Meaning in Poetry

Poetry is rift with meaning, for meaning and emotions are what makes poetry, well… poetry. A reader may find something meaningful to themselves in a poem that the author may not have initially prescribed. For a reader relates to the poem through their experiences which provides poetry additional meaning. Many authors use a variety of coded language to disguise the full significance behind their poetry. Its is a guise providing an additional interest to poetry.

When it comes to meaning in the visual arts, it is a toss up. Art is very personal and individual. The meaning in an art piece is only derived from how the viewer  interprets the piece. This is because the artist is not there to explain their connotation of their artwork. They may attempt to inscribe meaning within a piece, but it may often be lost though interpretation. A commission may have no meaning to the artist, but may mean a good deal to the commissioner (for example the commission was a portrait of their deceased dog). The artist does not know the dog, which may not allow any special meaning to the artist other than he painted it. Art can cary meaning, but it may not have meaning to the entire populous. When one enters the Museum of Modern Art, he is lambasted with what many may consider “high art”, which in other terms, are art pieces so abstract hardly a soul could understand them, disregarding the artist that created them. For example, one piece of art that was exhibited in San Fransisco’s MOMA, was what appeared to be a flour sack painted the color of human skin, and garnished with male nipples and what appeared to be actual human chest hair. Now one may ask, what is the meaning of this piece? While it was grotesque, it may have only served for it’s shock value.