Abstract
I ask whether and when historical inaccuracy in a work of art constitutes an aesthetic flaw. I first consider a few replies derived from others: conceptual impossibility, import-export inconsistency, failure of reference, and imaginative resistance. I argue that while there is a grain of truth to some of these proposals, none of them ultimately succeeds. I proceed to offer an alternative account on which the aesthetic demerits of historical inaccuracies stem from a violation of the conversational contract between author and audience. The key question is what that contract implies.
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
©2019 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
2019
You do not currently have access to this content.
