Bringing Science to Literature

"In poetry, context may function to expand meaning as well as to limit it." (The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry, pg. 4) Always go into a new experience (or reading) with an open mind. The article by Laurence Perrine regarding the interpretation of poetry really opened my eyes. As evidenced in my interpretation of the Emily Dickinson poem we read in class, I was a strong hater in the interpretation of literature. I believed that I could interpret anything I wanted in a literary work, so I despised taking classes studying works and determining a "correct" answer. Now, my eyes are opened and I understand that I could incorrectly interpret a poem. While variations in interpretation DO exist, they are limited by the words in the poem. This makes poem reading more fascinating to me. While I still am not a literature interpreting maniac, I appreciate that a fairly scientific approach was brought to literature.
While this is all well and good, I do see a downside in Perrine and his opinion. He seems to be a creativity hater. Yes, I understand that completely abstract ideas can be thrown out, but I still stand by my laundry interpretation of Emily Dickinson's poem. While it may not be the easiest, most simplified interpretation, that doesn't eliminate its effectiveness. If the author wanted the poem to be simple and have a straight-forward interpretation, he would have simplified the poem and made it straightforward. I will make a concession based on this phrase, "...the best is that which is most economical, i.e. which relies on the fewest assumptions not grounded in the poem itself." (TNPIP, pg. 1) This idea of having the simplest method be the most correct struck me as a science-guy. In physics, the most successful equations and theories are the "beautiful" ones. What makes an equation or theory beautiful? Its symmetry and "shortness." So, I do see how the simpler the interpretation, the more correct it is. But that doesn't make a less simple interpretation incorrect. When Einstein made the laws surrounding electricity and magnestism simpler, it didn't make Maxwell's equations incorrect or unvaluable. So, I don't believe that a more complex interpretation is necessarily incorrect.