11-20-2012, 04:46 PM
Personal symbols can be a little like in-jokes -- very frustrating to those who don't know what's going on, so you often feel like the writer is deliberately talking over your head. There are ways to put in "keys" to let the reader into your poem -- like everything, this takes practise.
I generally judge poetry according to this rubric, which is not comprehensive but it does give me a guide. The rest... well, it's always going to be a bit subjective. You can always take the chance that people are going to get some meaning out of something that's entirely personal, and sometimes you're going to be right. It really is a matter of knowing your audience and being as honest as you can -- with yourself and others -- about what you're trying to achieve.
I generally judge poetry according to this rubric, which is not comprehensive but it does give me a guide. The rest... well, it's always going to be a bit subjective. You can always take the chance that people are going to get some meaning out of something that's entirely personal, and sometimes you're going to be right. It really is a matter of knowing your audience and being as honest as you can -- with yourself and others -- about what you're trying to achieve.
It could be worse