4 ms·

The meaning of poetry is what the reader wants it to be just as much as what the author intended it to be. A single scene in the Netflix show "Daredevil" taugh

The meaning of poetry is what the reader wants it to be just as much as what the author intended it to be. A single scene in the Netflix show "Daredevil" taught me more about the arts than anything else in my 34 years. An art dealer tells a man "I tell them it's not about the artist's name or the skill required, not even about the art itself. All that matters is: 'How does it make you feel?'"

chc 8y ago
But in this case, this isn't just about "what the reader wants" versus "what the author intended." It's about "what the words actually say." The poem tells us that in the moment, the narrator sees that neither road is more or less traveled than the other, and only in the future will the narrator say he took the road less traveled by. We don't need to know anything about Frost or his intentions to see that this is what the poem says. So you might say that the meaning is not as important as how it makes you feel. But unless you're going to just come out and say that words have no meaning (and what would you say such a thing with?), the meaning of the poetry is somewhat independent of what the reader wants it to be.
- apocalypstyx 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game_(philosophy)
LoSboccacc 8y ago
But sometimes when the author say "the curtain is blue" the curtain is just blue. If a person reach some original enlightenment trough a poem words doesn't necessarily mean the word have an hidden meaning, it's likely that the poem meaning plus the reader baggage construed composed or concurred into an original thought that's derivative but independent from the work itself and attributing that specific enlightenment to the work alone seems inappropriate first because the meaning isn't there and second because it diminish the reader turning it's originality into passive dissonance An apple is an apple, if it moves to eat an apple because it reminds of grandma's apple pies then it's not that the apple itself has an universal meanings of grandma's. It has to you, but at face value it's still an apple for as much the eater wished it was grandma's pie, it still remains an independent thought formed from the apple but not what an apple is, the apple is still an apple.
sooheon 8y ago
I am still free to make fun of people for their senseless interpretations, however nice it makes them feel.
epicide 8y ago
I wouldn't say the author's intended message or skill doesn't matter at all [0]. While how it makes you feel is what ultimately matters most, the author's thoughts/intentions/context can and should significantly affect the meaning you take from the artwork [1]. To completely ignore original intent would be like using "exception proves the rule" at face value (one of my personal pet peeves). [0]: Directly interpreted from "all that matters". [1]: I'd also agree that people get caught up in the who/how and lose sight of just enjoying things, which is clearly what the quote was trying to convey.

chc 8y ago

But in this case, this isn't just about "what the reader wants" versus "what the author intended." It's about "what the words actually say." The poem tells us that in the moment, the narrator sees that neither road is more or less traveled than the other, and only in the future will the narrator say he took the road less traveled by. We don't need to know anything about Frost or his intentions to see that this is what the poem says. So you might say that the meaning is not as important as how it makes you feel. But unless you're going to just come out and say that words have no meaning (and what would you say such a thing with?), the meaning of the poetry is somewhat independent of what the reader wants it to be.

apocalypstyx 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_game_(philosophy)

LoSboccacc 8y ago

But sometimes when the author say "the curtain is blue" the curtain is just blue. If a person reach some original enlightenment trough a poem words doesn't necessarily mean the word have an hidden meaning, it's likely that the poem meaning plus the reader baggage construed composed or concurred into an original thought that's derivative but independent from the work itself and attributing that specific enlightenment to the work alone seems inappropriate first because the meaning isn't there and second because it diminish the reader turning it's originality into passive dissonance An apple is an apple, if it moves to eat an apple because it reminds of grandma's apple pies then it's not that the apple itself has an universal meanings of grandma's. It has to you, but at face value it's still an apple for as much the eater wished it was grandma's pie, it still remains an independent thought formed from the apple but not what an apple is, the apple is still an apple.

sooheon 8y ago

I am still free to make fun of people for their senseless interpretations, however nice it makes them feel.

epicide 8y ago

I wouldn't say the author's intended message or skill doesn't matter at all [0]. While how it makes you feel is what ultimately matters most, the author's thoughts/intentions/context can and should significantly affect the meaning you take from the artwork [1]. To completely ignore original intent would be like using "exception proves the rule" at face value (one of my personal pet peeves). [0]: Directly interpreted from "all that matters". [1]: I'd also agree that people get caught up in the who/how and lose sight of just enjoying things, which is clearly what the quote was trying to convey.