Literature Glossary
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Affective Fallacy
Definition:
I get so emotional, baby! Every time I think of you-oo-ou!
Sorry, we were just gettin' down to some classic Whitney Houston.
That's because we get so emotional, baby, every time we think of the affective fallacy. And here's why: In literary criticism, the affective fallacy refers to incorrectly judging a piece of writing by how it emotionally affects its reader. In other words, if you think a poem about a three-legged puppy is poignant because it makes you bawl your eyes out, you're wrong. You should be separating your tear-stained face from your evaluation of the poem.
Now, we know what you're thinking: "But Shmoop, it's a three-legged puppy! Getting the sniffles shows that the poem is effective!" You're right, but that's just your individual response. Your coldhearted BFF, meanwhile, might read the same poem and be totally unmoved. (Yeah, she has no heart.)
And that's why some critics find individual emotional responses to be a bad judge of merit: When it comes to emotions, everybody reacts differently.