Perrine Poetry Entry

I guess I knew coming into this reading that it would be controversial. It has such polars and such insults against authors that try to "keep themselves out of trouble" (as Perrine were to say). Regardless,  I agree with his logic on select terms. One of them being that fact that there are many factors that go into poems that have to even out, so in better words, the poem OR interpretation of a poem can't contradict itself. Also, Perrine asserts that the interpretation grounded most in the boundaries of the poem and not in mere assumptions. I can agree with that part of it, but when I read his analysis of the three poems that we read for class, I was actually insulted. In what way is it okay for him to denounce the value and the truth I find in some one's writing? It's not even his to say! For a purely academic sense I can understand the value of speaking on "like" terms, but for me, I like to understand works on my own terms, and at the same time, I'd like to be completely honest with the writer by trying to best represent and interpret their brilliance. 

To be perfectly honest, I may just be bitter that my analysis of the the poems did not get the approving nod from Perrine, but I really think my interpretation, as well as my peers, were intelligent, well thought out, and cared for in a way that for mere conversation, it shouldn't be put away as if there's one answer to the mystery of a poem. In a couple cases, I was surprised by the, well, "scenic" interpretation of the poems. I figured that Emily Dickinson was speaking of far more than a sunrise, or a garden, or whatever physical place it may be. I think more in terms of it's relativity to humanity, or an explanation of the way of humans. When reading poems, I think I get stuck in thinking in a certain dimension. I haven't found myself pulled to the physical explanation of diction and imagery, but rather an explanation of me, or you, or of people in general or of lovers or of society. Poetry is so personal. It describes the interpreter and how they see the world.

Gosh I am such a procrastinator. Sorry Mr. Costello.