[Milton-L] interpreting poems variously [was Satan etc.]

[gilliaca at jmu.edu]

.>
>   
>   How widespread is the notion that poetry is a
>   splendid thing (in some part or in large
>   part) because one can interpret it however one
>   likes?
>    
>   When in English Lit. history does the notion that
>   ambiguity of meaning is a constituative
>   characteristic of poetry first appear?
>    

Ambiguity doesn't mean you can interpret however you like.

OTOH, I have often had undergraduates say they like poetry because 'it can mean what it means to me.' This is usually followed by the observation that the poem being discussed "flows smoothly." I am proud to say that I taught for more years than I care to number and never gave in to the temptation ofpointing out other, less pleasant things that "flowed smoothly."

C
Cynthia A. Gilliatt
English Department, JMU, ret.
JMU Safe Zones supporter
"You have made God in your own image when God hates the same people you hate." Fr. John Weston