Intentional Fallacy

Definition

The intentional fallacy is the belief that the author's intentions and thoughts should dictate the meaning of a literary work. It suggests that evaluating a text based on the author’s intentions can lead to misleading interpretations, as meaning can be derived from the text itself rather than from outside context. This concept emphasizes the importance of focusing on the text's intrinsic qualities rather than external factors such as authorial intent.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The term was popularized by New Critics who argued that a text should be analyzed independently of its author.
2. The intentional fallacy is often contrasted with the affective fallacy, which concerns how a reader's emotional responses can influence interpretation.
3. This concept posits that knowing what an author intended does not necessarily provide insight into the actual meaning of their work.
4. Understanding the intentional fallacy encourages readers to engage more deeply with a text's language, structure, and themes rather than seeking to uncover what an author meant.
5. Rejecting the intentional fallacy aligns with modern approaches to literature that prioritize multiple interpretations and the reader's perspective.

Review Questions

• How does the intentional fallacy impact the approach of New Criticism to literary analysis?
  • The intentional fallacy directly shapes New Criticism by promoting the idea that a literary work should be analyzed based solely on its textual features, ignoring the author's intentions. New Critics argue that focusing on what an author intended can distort understanding, leading critics to miss deeper meanings within the text itself. By prioritizing elements like imagery, form, and language, New Criticism allows for a more objective analysis that highlights how the text operates independently of external influences.
• Discuss how rejecting the intentional fallacy opens up possibilities for interpretation in literary studies.
  • By rejecting the intentional fallacy, literary studies encourage a broader range of interpretations, allowing readers to draw meaning from their own experiences and contexts. This perspective invites diverse viewpoints and acknowledges that each reader brings their own understanding to a text, which may differ from what the author originally intended. It creates space for theories like Reader-Response Theory to flourish, where meaning is seen as collaborative between text and reader rather than fixed by authorial intent.
• Evaluate how understanding the intentional fallacy can influence a reader's engagement with literature in contemporary discourse.
  • Understanding the intentional fallacy can significantly enhance a reader's engagement with literature by shifting focus away from trying to decipher authorial intent towards appreciating a text's inherent qualities. In contemporary discourse, this shift fosters critical thinking and promotes discussions around varying interpretations, enriching literary conversations. Readers become empowered to explore themes, symbols, and emotions within a work without feeling constrained by what they believe the author meant, ultimately leading to a more dynamic interaction with literature.

Related terms

New Criticism:

A literary theory that emphasizes close reading and analysis of a text, focusing on its formal elements without considering outside factors such as author biography or historical context.

Textualism: An approach to interpretation that prioritizes the text itself over external influences, including authorial intent, historical background, and reader response.

Reader-Response Theory: A literary theory that emphasizes the reader's role in interpreting a text, suggesting that meaning is created through the interaction between the reader and the text.