William Kurtz Wimsatt, Jr.
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William Kurtz Wimsatt, Jr. was an American critic associated with New Criticism. He, along with Monroe C. Beardsley, introduced the term "intentional fallacy" in their 1954 work, The Verbal Icon. This concept argues against judging a work of art based on the artist's presumed intentions. New Criticism emphasized the intrinsic value of a literary work, focusing solely on the text itself rather than external historical or biographical data. Wimsatt's work questioned the value of seeking authorial intention for textual interpretation.123
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- intentional fallacy
Introduced by W.K. Wimsatt, Jr., and Monroe C. Beardsley in The Verbal Icon (1954), the approach was a reaction to the popular belief that to know what the author intended—what he had in mind at the time of writing—was to know the correct interpretation of the work.…
Read MoreIntroduced by W.K. Wimsatt, Jr., and Monroe C. Beardsley in The Verbal Icon (1954), the approach was a reaction to the popular belief that to know what the author intended—what he had in mind at the time of writing—was to know the correct interpretation of the work.…
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aestheticsTaste, criticism, and judgmentThe American critics W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley, however, argued that there is a fallacy (the so-called intentional fallacy) involved in this approach. What is to be interpreted is the work of art itself, not the intentions of the artist, which are hidden from us and no…
Read MoreThe American critics W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley, however, argued that there is a fallacy (the so-called intentional fallacy) involved in this approach. What is to be interpreted is the work of art itself, not the intentions of the artist, which are hidden from us and no…
Read More- intentionality
…Sewanee Review in 1946, authors W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley questioned further the value of searching for authorial intention. Other critics such as E.D. Hirsch, Jr., stressed that knowledge of the author’s intention is necessary for determining a work’s success; without that knowledge, he argued, it is impossible to determine…
Read More…Sewanee Review in 1946, authors W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley questioned further the value of searching for authorial intention. Other critics such as E.D. Hirsch, Jr., stressed that knowledge of the author’s intention is necessary for determining a work’s success; without that knowledge, he argued, it is impossible to determine…
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