Who among the following is associated with the term ‘Intentional fallacy’ in literary criticism?

The correct option is W.K. Wimsatt.

The term 'Intentional fallacy' is a foundational concept in New Criticism, a school of literary theory that dominated mid-20th century academic study. It was formulated by the American literary critic William Kurtz Wimsatt Jr. (W.K. Wimsatt) in collaboration with philosopher Monroe C. Beardsley.

Wimsatt and Beardsley first introduced and elaborated on this concept in their famous 1946 essay titled "The Intentional Fallacy" (later collected in Wimsatt's influential 1954 book, The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry).

The term refers to the logical error or "fallacy" of judging a literary work by assuming the author's intended meaning or purpose when writing it. Wimsatt and Beardsley argued that a poem or text does not belong to the author once it is published; rather, it belongs to the public and must be analyzed solely on its internal evidence (the words on the page) rather than external biographical details or the author's stated intentions. According to them, an author's intention is "neither available nor desirable as a standard for judging the success of a work of literary art."