"The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry" by Laurence Perrine

" 'A symbol,' writes John Ciardi, 'is like a rock dropped into a pool: it sends out ripple in all directions, and the ripples are in motion. Who can say where the the last ripple disappears?' " (page 5)

I really like this quote; I think that it has a lot to say about life. To me, this means that symbols are given to us, but many people take the symbol in different directions when it comes to interpretation. When it comes to poetry, there really is no correct answer when it comes to interpreting a poem's meaning, but it does have to stay within boundaries of the context. I do agree with Perrine's approach to determining "correct" interpretations of poetry because he made me realize that there really are different ways to understand poetry. To me, though, this kind of bothers me. I am one of those people that I like to know what the correct answer is, and then I move on. With all of these "open to interpretation" things, life just gets more confusing. I just wish that the writer's would display their true meanings of their works. Life would be less confusing. But alas, I have to read the poetry incorrectly and analyze it through another perspective in order to understand the correct meaning of the poem.

The article changed my view of poems because they really are more complex than just words. I am a lyricist, so many of my songs consist of poems. Being the writer, it is invigorating to come up with my own symbolic meaning of my words. Yes, some people will interpret my words differently, but having the liberty of having no other person think like me is very exciting in a way. I do agree with the article in the sense that we have to interpret the poem within the boundaries of the text. But sometimes, how I interpret the poem is far off the poem's actual meaning. For instance, I read those poems the other night. My interpretations were no where near close to the actual meanings. I guess I just misinterpreted the poem's symbolism, and I took it an entirely different route. But sometimes, I have to read things more carefully in order to grasp what the writer is trying to say.