Having an understanding of philosophy can help in this process and allow people to more fully understand each perspective they should take when studying literature and literary criticism. Wimsatt and Beardsley, The Intentional Fallacy 1. Authorial intention should not be an area addressed in literary criticism. A. What he or she intended to write should not be part of the formula that critics use to make meaning of the work. B. Intention is defined as the design or plan in the mind of the author, and this intention is present because no one creates a literary work without intention. C. When a critic judges a work, however, he or she should look exclusively at the structure and characteristics of the text to develop meaning. 2. Getting caught up in the “intentional fallacy” means that the critic becomes fixated on understanding the work based on what the author wanted to say instead of thinking about what the work actually means to him or her. A. This line of thinking can prevent a critic from fully embracing the meaning of the text. B. When you try to judge a work using this fallacy, you will miss the depth of feelings, senses, and tones of the work.