Do you really understand what you read

I always try to understand a poem. I sometimes fail. The example of that poem.. I tried hard to understand it. But I didn't. And not understanding a poem frustrates me haha. So for me its not just all about the flow or rhyme or anything, I care about the meaning of the poem.

"All art is quite useless" says Oscar Wilde. With this, he means that art is nothing but a manifestation of the beautiful. Art, in my opinion, exists to express the beautiful in a deeper sense. Further, it is not really that you need to understand a poem (because one may fail in attempting to do so: the author may have intended to convey a different meaning.) Given the vast number of interpretations that art allows for, I do not think that poems must be understood fully and accurately, rather they should be enjoyed for their artistic value. (Again, the author may have had something different in mind when saying X or Y thing, but the reader interprets A or B. It is the reader that attributes value and meaning to art.)

Great question, Bob but I usually don't want to get that deep or work that hard. I think Hansrik expresses my view point best. The only time I really worrier about the meaning behind a poem is when it really affects or gabs me or if I’m studying a poem for academic or analytical purposes, otherwise, I just want to appreciate the sheer artful beauty of a really well written piece, but to your point as to whether or not we can understand the deeper laden meaning behind a poem an excerpt from a Poetry IQ Test:

Consider the following poem:

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.

The age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.
Robert Herrick, 1591-1674

What is the theme of Herrick’s poem?

a.) Marriage is most successful when a couple is young.

b.) Youth is best spent in ease; there is time enough in later years to accomplish our goals.

c.) We must take advantage of the opportunities afforded in our youth because youth is fleeting.

d.) Everything eventually dies, thus, nothing we do is truly important.

Now, I examined the poem and answered the attached question, but normally, I wouldn’t consciously trying to think, as to what the poet is trying to say, but just simply, enjoying the poem. You can examine all parts of life for deeper meaning, but that might take your attention away from just enjoying it!!!