According to W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley, the 'Intentional Fallacy' occurs when a critic does what?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: Evaluates a work based on the author's stated intentions or biography
The 'Intentional Fallacy' argues that an author's intention is neither available nor desirable as a standard for judging the success of a work of art. The text must stand as an autonomous object regardless of what the author meant to do.
Keep practicing
More Formalism questions
- Which critic is associated with the concept of 'The Heresy of Paraphrase'?
- Which term was used by Russian Formalists to describe the elements that distinguish literary language from everyday communication?
- In New Criticism, what is the term for a statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a deeper truth, often seen as central to poe…
- Which 1929 book by I.A. Richards laid the groundwork for New Criticism by analyzing how students misread poems?
- T.S. Eliot's concept of the 'Objective Correlative' suggests that an emotion in art is best expressed by:
- The concept of 'Affective Fallacy' warns against evaluating a poem based on: