Idea of Authorial Intent in “The Intentional Fallacy” by Wimsatt and Beardsley

Abstract

“The Intentional Fallacy” by Wimsatt and Beardsley is a beautifully carved masterpiece to formulate and analyze the conception of authorial intent in any literary or non-literary text. According to multiple perspective there are multiple argument related to presence and absence of authorial intent in understanding of any text. Amidst such turmoil Wimsatt and Beardsley tried to pacify this argument by citing various exemplars from Romantic and Modernist texts. In simple terms “authorial intentionalism” refers to analyzing the text according to author’s intent behind the text. TS Eliot, Wimsatt and Cleanth Brooks belong to the school of New Criticism and they deny the use of authorial intent in understanding any text. They state that author’s intentions are “neither available, nor desirable” to judge a literary work.