Ideas of W Wimsatt/W Beardsley, by Theme

[American, fl. 1954, Professors at Yale and Temple Univerities.]

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21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 1. Artistic Intentions
Intentions either succeed or fail, so external evidence for them is always irrelevant [Davies,S]
The author's intentions are irrelevant to the judgement of a work's success
Poetry, unlike messages, can be successful without communicating intentions
The thoughts of a poem should be imputed to the dramatic speaker, and hardly at all to the poet
The intentional fallacy is a romantic one
Biography can reveal meanings and dramatic character, as well as possible intentions