William K. Wimsatt, Jr
William K. Wimsatt, Jr. was an influential American literary critic and scholar, born on November 17, 1907, in Washington, D.C. He specialized in eighteenth-century British literature and held degrees from Georgetown University and Yale University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1939. Wimsatt was a faculty member at Yale for most of his career, contributing significantly to literary criticism, particularly through his co-authored works that advanced New Criticism, a dominant literary movement in the mid-20th century. His notable publications include *The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry* (1954), which contains pivotal essays like "The Intentional Fallacy," and *Literary Criticism: A Short History* (1957), co-authored with Cleanth Brooks. Wimsatt was recognized with several prestigious awards and honorary doctorates from universities, was named Sterling Professor of English, and held leadership positions in professional organizations. He became increasingly critical of contemporary literary theories influenced by structuralism and post-structuralism in his later writings. Wimsatt's legacy remains rooted in his rigorous analytical approach to literature and his insights into the works of Samuel Johnson and other writers of his era.
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Subject Terms
William K. Wimsatt, Jr.
Writer
- Born: November 17, 1907
- Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
- Died: December 17, 1975
- Place of death: New Haven, Connecticut
Biography
William Kurz Wimsatt, Jr., was born in Washington, D.C., on November 17, 1907, the son of a lumber dealer. After earning B.A. and M.A. degrees at Georgetown University, he taught English from 1930 to 1935 at the Priory School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. After teaching for a year at Catholic University, he studied at Yale University, which awarded him a Ph.D. in 1939. That same year he joined the Yale faculty and remained there until his death on December 17, 1975.
Wimsatt’s academic specialty was eighteenth century British literature. In 1941, he published his first scholarly book, The Prose Style of Samuel Johnson. Rigorously analytical, the book emphasizes the distinction between literary criticism and biography. Three years later he published a work about the changes in Johnson’s use of language, attempting to discover and explain “the history of Johnson’s mind.”
Wimsatt joined with Monroe Beardsley to co-author The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry (1954), which includes three famous essays: “The Intentional Fallacy,” “The Affective Fallacy,” and “Explication as Criticism.” The first essay argues that understanding the intention of an author should not be a major goal of literary criticism; the second essay repudiates the practice of focusing on the emotions stimulated in the reader; and the third advocates a detailed examination and explanation of the text itself. The three articles present one of the strongest defenses of New Criticism, which dominated Anglo-American literary studies until the 1970’s.
Wimsatt’s next book, Literary Criticism: A Short History (1957), co-authored with Cleanth Brooks, is considered one of the standard works in the field. In 1959, he published one volume in the Yale edition of James Boswell’s papers. Wimsatt’s subsequent writings became increasingly polemical. He was especially opposed to the modes of criticism influenced by French structuralism and post-structuralism. In his last publication, Day of the Leopards: Essays in Defense of the Poem (1976), he accused several left-wing critics of using literary texts and theories as means for promoting their own political agendas.
Over the years, Wimsatt won numerous prestigious awards. Several major universities, including Villanova and Notre Dame, presented him with honorary doctorates. He was named Sterling Professor of English in 1974, served on the executive committee of the Modern Language Association, and was president of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences.
One of the outstanding New Critics of his generation, Wimsatt is remembered for his theoretical articulation of formalistic literary criticism, as well as for his perceptive insights into Samuel Johnson and other eighteenth century British writers. In his later years, his traditional views about the canon and about the moral implications of literary texts caused him to take an unsympathetic view toward the more radical approaches that were becoming increasingly popular among literary critics.