I choose c.
A is unacceptable, because of "whatever" in the first sentence and because not all interpretations are equally persuasive.
B is unacceptable because, even assuming we could ever know what an author meant to say, authors are quite often idiots about their own works. Not to say that authorial intention is irrelevant, IMHO, but it should not constitute a straitjacket either.
C runs something like: the meaning of a poem is constructed anew with each new reading -- the efficacy of any one interpretation of a poem is a product of its power to convince other readers that the interpretation does justice to the text.
epigone
[This message has been edited by epigone (edited April 10, 2006).]
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