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Affective Fallacy and New Criticism

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Wimsatt and Beardsley--The Intentional Fallacy and The Affective Fallacy

Criticism which takes account of authorial intention in a work is commiting a fallacy--the intentional fallacy.

The intentional fallacy "is a confusion between the poem and its origins . . . it begins by trying to derive the standard of criticism from the psychological causes of the poem and ends in biography and relativism."

Three evidences for he meaning of a poem:

1) internal--The internal is what is public: "it is discovered through the semantics and syntax of a poem, through our habitual knowledge of the language, through grammars, dictionaries, and all the literature which is the source of dictionaries, in general through all that makes a language and culture."

2) External--The external is "private or idiosyncratic; not part of the work as a linguistic fact: it consists of revelations . . . about how or why the poet wrote the poem."

3) Intermediate--"private or semiprivate meanings attached to words or topics by an author."

The affective fallacy "is a confusion between the poem and its results (what it is and what it does). It begins by trying to derive the standard of criticism from the psychological effects of the poem and ends in impressionism and relativism."

"The outcome of either fallacy . . . is that the poem itself, as an object of specifically critical judgement, tends to disappear."
http://www.brysons.net/academic/wimsattbeardsley.html

My Topics

Intentional fallacy
"the death of an author"

Tools for presentation

http://www.xtimeline.com/index.aspx

http://tinyurl.com/

http://www.scour.com/

New Criticism - Ransom, Richards, Beardsley, and Wimsatt

Big Portion Of The Project

Affective and Intentional Fallacies

Literary Dictionary: intentional fallacy

intentional fallacy, the name given by the American New Critics W. K. Wimsatt Jr and Monroe C. Beardsley to the widespread assumption that an author's declared or supposed intention in writing a work is the proper basis for deciding on the meaning and the value of that work. In their 1946 essay ‘The Intentional Fallacy’ (reprinted in Wimsatt's The Verbal Icon, 1954), these critics argue that a literary work, once published, belongs in the public realm of language, which gives it an objective existence distinct from the author's original idea of it: ‘The poem is not the critic's own and not the author's (it is detached from the author at birth and goes about the world beyond his power to intend about it or control it). The poem belongs to the public.’ Thus any information or surmise we may have about the author's intention cannot in itself determine the work's meaning or value, since it still has to be verified against the work itself. Many other critics have pointed to the unreliability of authors as witnesses to the meanings of their own works, which often have significances wider than their intentions in composing them: as D. H. Lawrence wrote in his Studies in Classic American Literature(1923), ‘Never trust the artist. Trust the tale.’

http://www.answers.com/topic/intentional-fallacy

Wikipedia: affective fallacy

Affective fallacy is a term from literary criticism used to refer to the supposed error of judging or evaluating a text on the basis of its emotional effects on a reader. The term was coined by W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley as a principle of New Criticism.

http://www.answers.com/topic/affective-fallacy (GREAT SITE TONS OF INFO ON NEW CRISTICISM)

Wimsatt and Beardsley--The Intentional Fallacy and The Affective Fallacy

Criticism which takes account of authorial intention in a work is commiting a fallacy--the intentional fallacy.         

The intentional fallacy "is a confusion between the poem and its origins . . . it begins by trying to derive the standard of criticism from the psychological causes of the poem and ends in biography and relativism."

http://www.michaelbryson.net/academic/wimsattbeardsley.html

New Criticism

New Criticism emphasizes explication, or "close reading," of "the work itself." It rejects old historicism's attention to biographical and sociological matters. Instead, the objective determination as to "how a piece works" can be found through close focus and analysis, rather than through extraneous and erudite special knowledge. It has long been the pervasive and standard approach to literature in college and high school curricula.

http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/new.crit.html

http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/english/courses/60a/newcrit.html

Methods previous to New Criticism: 
extrinsic analysis--historical/biographical, 
moral/philosophical (New Humanist), 
impressionist critics, expressive school

New Cristicism

1. "the text and the text alone" approach...........................ctd

http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/Literary_Criticism/new_criticism/

http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=768

My Accountability Agreement

Focus: What do you want to accomplish in this class or during this year?
1.During this year I would like to reach and maintain an average of 80 or more in this class
2. A big thing I want to accomplish this year is to decide what job I would like to pursue in the future and what courses I need in university to get there
3. I would also like to maintain a high enough average to be accepted into the university of my choice
4. Throughout this year I would like to put more effort into all of my classes instead of doing them half heartedly


Contributions: What contributions will you make to this class or to the school this year?
1. This year I will do my best to provide help to my class mates when they are in need of it
2. I will not do things in the class room that may distract my classmates and get their attention away from their work
3. When working on group projects I will carry my own wieght and not leave my group members behind

Accountabilities: For what will you be held responsible?
1.I am responsible for handing in all my work on or before the date they are due
2.I am responsible for attending class on a regular basis
3.To be respectful and not talk while my teacher is giving a lesson
4.Put all my effort into my work to make the final product worth handing in


Supports: What help, and from whom, will you need in order to achieve your accountabilities?
1.I will need help from my teacher to be there when I need help on something
2.I will need my friends to keep me on task but also make class fun
3.I will need help from my teachers in finding areas I need to improve in to add quality to my work (and I know there are lots of areas for me to improve in so it might take time)
4. I will finally need help from my sports and teams to give me a place go to forget all of my problems and get my mind on something I love to do

Measurements: How will you know what success looks like?
1.I will know I have suceeded when I get back marks that make me feel good
2.I will be proud of what I have accomplished
3. I will get into the university of my choice with my marks

Consequences: How should you be rewarded if you succeed? How should you be punished?
1.If I suceed I will reward myself with a day of relaxation which means doing no homework
2. If I do well I will treat myself to something I have wanted but never have been willing to spend the money on it
3.The biggest punishment of all would be not being able to get into a university course of my choice which would probably be something I would regret for my entire life!