Fallacies in Interpreting the Literary Work of Art:

Nagendra Gangola
Simplified

1. Affective Fallacy
W.K. Wimsatt and M.C. Beardsley introduced the term ‘Affective Fallacy’ in 1946.
It means an error of interpreting and evaluating a poem by its effect – especially its emotional
effects – upon the reader. A critic or an analyst tries to judge or (say instead) misjudge the poem
according to its psychological impression upon the reader and relates his criticism/analysis
exclusively to not the poem but to the impact of the poem upon the reader. It leads to the
misinterpretation of the poem. It is claimed that the poem should be analyzed objectively and so
the doctrine of ‘Objective Criticism’ established and flourished in 1970s. Later, by making some
light modifications, Beardsley admitted that at some extent the psychological (emotional) impact
of the poem should be considered while analyzing the poem. Later the term was severely
attacked by the critics of ‘Reader-Response Theory’.
Example of Affective Fallacy: Suppose you are reading the sonnet sequence of Shakespeare and
there you find that Shakespeare has some hate to a Black Lady. So you start to consider that
Shakespeare is an anti-feminist poet.

2. Intentional Fallacy
W. K. Wimsatt and M. C. Beardsley introduced the term ‘Intentional Fallacy’ in 1946.
(Reprinted in ‘The Verbal Icon’ 1954)
When a reader/critic tries to interpret or evaluate a literary work of art by taking reference
outside the text, intentional fallacy appears. Why the writer wrote the work of art? And you look
for the references like – biographical elements, the writer’s personal situation, his psychological
condition, his state of mind etc. while he wrote it and tries to interpret/evaluate the work of art…
it leads to intentional fallacy appears. It diverts the attention to the ‘external’ elements and the
true ‘internal’ motive of writing the work of art is neglected. So instead of concentrating upon
the work of art, we begin to pursue the ‘intention’ of the writer in writing the work of art...so
‘intentional fallacy’.
Example of Intentional Fallacy: As we all know, Coleridge’s ‘Kubla Khan’ is a dream-fragment.
But J. L. Lowes wrote a big book ‘The Road to Xanadu: A Study in the Ways of the
Imagination’ to interpret the sources of the poems – Kubla Khan and The Rhyme of the Ancient
Mariner. It is the famous example of Intentional Fallacy.

3. Pathetic Fallacy
The term ‘Pathetic Fallacy’ was introduced by John Ruskin in 1856.
Pathetic Fallacy means ascribing human capabilities, sensations and emotions to inanimate
natural things and addressing or treating them as they are alive.
Example: Famous example is Wordsworth’s poem ‘Daffodils’ in which he says:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;