Interpreting Poetry

Poetry is, more or less, up for interpretation.
Most poetry is not written like a novel, it does not tell a specific story and give you all of the details you need to decipher it.
A poem is there for the reader to interpret on his or her own.
After recently reading Seamus Heaney?s poem, St. Kevin and the Blackbird, I have taken my own understanding of it, which could be completely different from any one of my classmates? understandings.
Coming from a Christian background, rather than a Catholic background, I will
have a different interpretation than my Catholic classmates.
Catholicism and Christianity are similar, but in Christianity, there are no prominents saints, therefore I have very little background on the actual story of St. Kevin. This is the first, and probably biggest difference in interpretation between readers.



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