Literalist

Are you a literalist? If so, it is absolutely mandatory when reading poetical writings to shift out of literal interpretation over into metaphorical reasoning. The meaning does not change! A poetical symbol boldly represents the truth for which it reflects. Do not take that symbol and turn it into a 'reliable concrete absolute' which it was never intended to be! It represents... understand it in that way and enjoy the writing in the way it was intended. When finished reading, you can go back to being a literalist once again. The world does have a need for your reasoning prowess.