Wimsatt And Beardsley The Intentional Fallacy Summary

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Eliot, Tradition and Individual Talent 1. Being too traditional or simply just following traditions in writing is looked down upon by some in the field of English. a. While we can appreciate writers of the past, we should not limit ourselves to the writing styles and content that was relevant in the past. b. When reading literature, readers should not hold themselves to the preconceived notion that only writers of the past were quality writers. c. Traditional writing is too historical. Instead of looking at writing of the past for its wider significance, readers get caught up in the historical context of the work and do not analyze the work itself. 2. While studying traditional writing from the past may lead to too much analysis of the historical …show more content…

Having an understanding of philosophy can help in this process and allow people to more thoroughly understand each perspective to take when studying literature and literary criticism.

Wimsatt and Beardsley, The Intentional Fallacy 1. The author’s intention should not be an area addressed in literary criticism. a. What he or she intended to write should not be part of the formula that critics use to make meaning of the work. b. Intention is defined as the design or plan in the author’s mind, and this intention is present because no one creates a literary work without intention. c. When a critic is judging a work, however, he or she should look solely at the structure and text features to develop meaning. 2. Getting caught up in the “intentional fallacy” means that the critic becomes fixated on understanding the work based on what the author wanted to say instead of thinking about what the work really means to him or her. a. This line of thinking can prevent a critic from fully embracing what the text means. b. When one tries to judge a work using this fallacy, then he or she will miss out on the depth of feelings, senses, and tones of the

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