The Interpretation of Poetry

I agree with Perrine's approach in regards to the principle that "for any given poem there are correct and incorrect readings". However, I don't quite agree that there is only one correct reading. It's is true that some interpretations would certainly be incorrect. How could, like in this class, a teacher ever grade or test a student's ability to interpret poetry if any wild idea were considered correct. The fact that every person's interpretation will not be correct is obvious. But then how does one choose which answers are acceptable and which aren't? In my opinion it is unfair to say that one person's imagination is wrong simply because they arrived at a different idea than another person. This is just a difference in opinions, especially since poems are a lot of the times so open for interpretation. I think that if a person can arrive at a conclusion and can successfully reason their arrival at that conclusion of the meaning of a poem, that can be considered correct. The whole idea behind interpretation is to try to combine reason with the mysterious words and symbols in writing isn't it?

I really like Perrine's idea that "a poem- in fact, any pattern of words- defines an area of meaning, no more. Any interpretation is acceptable which lies within that area". This goes along with what I was saying in the way that there can be some leniency in whether an interpretation is right or wrong. I think Perrine is saying that a poem represents a thought or idea, and if an interpretation is reasonably in line with that idea, it is a good interpretation. It seems very unlikely that someone would come to the exact conclusion of the author in reading poetry (like Perrine's English class of which one came to the correct interpretation of Emily Dickenson's poem).  Too many variations in imagination and personalities in general exist for it to be expected that one interpretation of something so vague as poetry be expected to be studied scientifically. I get the vibe that Perrine like to look at poetry in this scientific outlook, with his "criteria used for judging any interpretation of a poem". I really don't like this idea, and I hope a littleeniency will be allotted to this class, or I might be in trouble. I just enjoy reading the poetry more without having to frantically scan for the mandatory interpretation.