I suppose we're not really far afield from each other, as you noted in your
last post.
When I brought up "other things" besides meaning though (and wasn't that a
broad, catch-all category! oops) I was thinking more about things like
sound, tone, rhythm. Coming from a creative writing background, I
sometimes enjoy reading and writing with only *those* things in mind. Even
some heavy-duty theoretical criticism is, to my mind, lyrical and
song-like. Occasionally I'll read it the first time through and it's like
listening to a song sung in a language I don't speak, but which is
melodious nonetheless. I can always go back and try to discern meanings
later. That's probably where my concern arises. If meaning is always the
first thing we look for, we *might* miss something.
Sorry if I misunderstood you...
Tim Mayers