The following text is from a literary theory article.
The "intentional fallacy" warned against reducing textual meaning to authorial biography and stated intentions. New Critics emphasized the text as self-sufficient aesthetic object. Subsequent movements complicated this position: reader-response critics foregrounded audience interpretation, while biographical approaches returned in sophisticated form. The pendulum between text-centered and context-centered interpretation continues to swing in literary studies.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It traces intellectual movements showing ongoing tension in literary interpretation.
It provides detailed biographies of major literary critics.
It definitively resolves the debate about authorial intention.
It compares American and European approaches to literature.
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. The text traces movements (New Criticism, reader-response, biographical return) showing ongoing interpretive tension.
- Evidence: The text traces history: "'intentional fallacy' warned against..." "New Critics emphasized..." "Subsequent movements complicated this... reader-response... biographical approaches returned." It notes tension: "pendulum... continues to swing."
- Reasoning: The structure follows a chronological pendulum swing of intellectual trends.
- Conclusion: This matches "traces intellectual movements showing ongoing tension."
💡 Strategy: Track the history: No Author -> Reader -> Author again.
Choice B is incorrect because biographies aren't provided. Choice C is incorrect because the debate continues. Choice D is incorrect because regional approaches aren't compared.