The music of Milton Babbitt is often considered to be positivistic due to the color of his theoretical writings. Yet Babbitt's writings about music do not substitute for his actual musical works and, although the composer was mistrustful of aesthetic interpretation, his music has frequently been shown to support such criticism. Building upon past efforts by Mead and Lewin, I explore the hermeneutic and aesthetic value of what is arguably his most expressive work, the 1964 soprano and tape piece, Philomel.