Is there a word or a phrase to describe an instance where meaning is ascribed to something where there is no such meaning or where the interpretation is particularly fanciful?
For example, when reading Shakespeare in English class or when viewing modern visual art in Art Appreciation class, someone mentions the 'phallic imagery or symbolism' of anything cylindrical in what is being read or viewed.
Best Answer
It's a phrase, not a word, but there's the expression reading too much into something, as in:
TFD lists read into as a phrasal verb, meaning:
That seems to be pretty close to what you're after.