The document discusses the intentional fallacy, a term used in 20th century literary criticism referring to judging a work of art based on the author's expressed intentions rather than on an objective analysis of the work itself. It was introduced by W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley in 1946. The document provides various perspectives on the intentional fallacy, noting that an author's intentions are not available as a standard for criticism, and that a poem should be judged based on what is presented in the work itself rather than outside evidence of the author's life or thoughts. It also discusses different types of evidence that can be used in analysis, such as internal, intermediate, and external evidence, and how the intentional fall

1. Name : Parmar Dhatri
Topic : Intentional Fallacy
Email ID :
dhatriparmar291@gmail.com
B.A. Sem: 6
Paper No. 21
 Literary theory/ Criticism-2

2.  Term used in 20th century literary criticism.
 “ Contemporary criticism, the term is used
to describe the error of judging the success
and the meaning of a work of art by author’s
expressed intention in producing it.”
 Introduced by W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe C.
Beardsley in Verbal icon in 1946.

3.  The design or intention of
author is neither available nor
desirable as a standard for
judging the success of work of
art.
 Critic’s approach will not be
qualified by his view of
‘intention’.[what author
intended]
I. Poem does not come into
existence by accident like
come out from hat but it
come out of head. Critic must
judge the worth of poet’s
performance with standard of
intention.
II. If poet succeeded in doing
that, then the poem itself
shows what poet was trying
to do. If not it is not
adequacy evidence and
critic must go outside the
poem for evidence.
“ Jugging a poem is like
judging a pudding or
machine”
“ The poet’s aim must be judged
at the movement of the
creative act, that is to say, by
the art of poem itself.”

4. III. Poetry is feat of style by which a
complex of meaning is haled at
once, al things implied in relevant
order.
IV. Short lyric poem is dramatic
response of a speaker to a situation.
Critic should impute thought and
attitude of poem to the speaker.
V. Author achieve his intention by
abstract sense. He indented to
write a better work but his former
intention was not his intention.
“ The poem is not the critic’s own and
not the author’s the poem belongs
to the public.”
Work
OF
Art
Artistic
criticism
[ artist achieve
His intention]
Moral/objective
criticism[undert
aken at all the
way.]
Poem embodied
in language
Subject [ statement in
linguistic
General science&
psychology/personality ]

5.  Intentional fallacy is romantic one. Rhetorician considered
as a distant harbinger of romanticism and greeted in
warmest way.
 “ In order to judge poet’s performance, we must know what
he intended.”
 Gothe's question for constructive criticism.
1. What did the author set out to do ?
2. Was his plan reasonable and sensible ?
3. How far did he succeed ?
 The beautiful and ugly part of art is aesthetic fact. Critic
write nice analysis of the meaning of the play by
Shakespeare but it remains aesthetic criticism.

6.  Poet write poetry by a sort of
genius and inspiration. Plato
saw a truth about the poetic
mind. It is inspirational and
affectionately remembered
and has proceeded from poet.
 “ Poetry is lava of imagination.
It is emotion recollected in
tranquility.”
 Poet is capable of opening all
the doors. Look at the things,
surrender yourself, search for
truth, listen inner voice,
discover and expressed.
• Young poet do creative
writing, it is different from
creative writing.
• Certain password sincerity,
fidelity, spontaneity,
authenticity, genuineness,
originality equated with
integrity, relevance, unity,
function, maturity, subtlety.
•Aesthetic art :
•Theory of expression,
conscious objection of
feeling, critical movement.

7. Internal
Evidence
•It is hidden
and publical.
•Discovered
through
semantics
and syntax of
poem like
language,
grammar,
dictionary.
Intermediate
evidence
•Restricted for
time,
character of
author. Private
meaning
attached to
words, poets,
group.
•Ex. Kubla
khan [cool]
External
evidence
•Individual
•It consists of
revelations
about hoe
the poem
wrote the
poem.
•Ex. Kubla
Khan
There is gross body of life and
mantle experience which lies in
every poem.
Kubla khan : fabric of
version. Every image
passed, nothing
happened in rereturn.
Image return to surface.
1. Coleridge’s limited
experience.
2. Cluster of association
as term of experience.
Elegy on Prince
Henry : Donne was
interested in
astronomy. Use of
geocentric antithesis
as metaphor to
prefer private
evidence to pubic
external.

8.  Allusiveness[ false judgment is
likely to involve the intentional
fallacy.]
 For finding meaning in
Elizabethan drama one have to
traced intention of author.
Close
reading
Intention
al fallacy
Meanin
g reside
in work
Separati
ng it
from bio-
graph.
Universal
truth
Practical criticism
Conclusion :
•The notion become central
part to modern literary
criticism and it is an
important part of what is
known as the new criticism.
Author upon both their
understanding of the
language in which they
write and their personal
experience about reality to
create a work.

9. THANK
YOU SO
MUCH