Perrine's Approach to Poetry

Perrine's approach to correctly determining the interpretations of poetry is a very logical one. The two conditions for finding the meaning of poetry seem very sensible, but I am not sure how practical. His comparison to a scientific hypothesis made his process easier to understand and grasp, but I do not know if I agree that poetry should be interpreted in the same way as science. To me, poetry seems like it should allow for more free interpretation. I realize that not all views can be considered correct, but is it absolutely necessary to deny any interpretation that has a single detail out of place? Just as writing poetry can provide insights into a person's mind and feelings, I think different interpretations can also lend themselves to finding out more about a person. I also understand where Perrine is coming from though when he says that there are incorrect ways of reading and interpreting poetry though. When the author writes poetry, he has a specific meaning in mind, but sometimes I wonder if the point of not directly stating the meaning is so that the reader can connect the poem to his own life and what it means to him. I agree with some of Perrine's ideas but not to the extent that he depicts.
After reading this article, I was able to see that my interpretations of these poems were way off. I, like most people as mentioned in this article, thought the Emily Dickinson poem was about a garden or field of flowers. Once I read Perrine's view of it, I felt like his was more accurate than mine and also made sense, but I was still not convinced that mine was a wrong interpretation. Yes, Perrine negated the truth behind that interpretation, but I still think that it could have some accuracy. My interpretation of Melville's poem was way too literal. I thought it was about the army and it was apparently about stars. Looking back at the poem, stars seems to fit much better. I think in this case, my interpretation was wrong. Throughout the reading, the concept that has stuck with me to the greatest extent is the one about a symbol in comparison to a ripple in a pool. I find the comparison to be relevant and meaningful. I feel that it provides an accurate description for how a symbol can and should be interpreted. I think Perrine's two conditions for true interpretations of poetry will halp me the most in studying poetry because I will try to remember to make sure all the details are true and accounted for.