Perrine's Poetry

In poetry, there are a numerous meanings people find to the poems. There is no correct answer to which is right, only understandings that are better than others. This really confused me because number one, who has the final say on which one is better? Number two, how are readers supposed to get the same meaning as someone else? The criteria used for judging the interpretations are: the interpretation must account satisfactorily for details in the poem, and they must me economical and not based solely on general assumptions. The interpretations can not be too out there or it will not make sense. Perrine also states that context that surrounds a poem can help to expand the meaning, but may also put a limit to it. Words in poetry have richer meanings. When one reads a poem, they have to go deeper and put thought into what is actually being said. Symbolism is used in many poems. This can cause a problem since there can be more than one understanding of what it is being stood for. RObert Penn Warren says, a symbol "partakes of the reality which it renders intelligible."
My interpretations the first time I read the poems were kind of on the right track but not really. After reading Perrine's interpretations, I began to see how they truly connect with the words present in the poem. I began to see how he made all the words come together to make the poem make sense to him. However, I'm still confused as to how we can train ourselves to comprehend the true meaning. We are supposed to understand what the author is trying to say, but we really do not know. Perrine's criteria is a short list; I feel the audience needs more guidelines to truly solve the true meaning. The biggest key in reading poems is to make sense of what words are used. Overall, I feel as though i may understand poems a little better if I follow Perrine's ideas.