Monroe C. Beardsley has been interpreted by many theorists as advocating antiexternalism with respect to an artwork's aesthetically relevant properties, typically its meaning. According to this orthodox interpretation, the meaning of a work is not established by external or contextual factors but by what is internally present in the work. This acontextual account of meaning is challenged by contextualism, which claims that a work's identity and meaning are in part determined by contextual factors. However, a close look at textual evidence (...) shows that Beardsley actually leans toward contextualism. In particular, his speech act theory of literature compels him to hold an explicit contextualist position with respect... (shrink)

This article discusses the relationship (or lack thereof) between authors’ intentions and the meaning of literary works. It considers the advantages and disadvantages of Extreme and Modest Actual Intentionalism, Conventionalism, and two versions of Hypothetical Intentionalism, and discusses the role that one’s theoretical commitments about the robustness of linguistic conventions and the publicity of literary works should play in determining which view one accepts.