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@article{204573,
        author = {Riya J. Raval},
        title = {Mining the Depths of Meaning: Unraveling Empson's Seven Types of Ambiguity},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {1},
        pages = {3472-3478},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=204573},
        abstract = {This paper provides a critical re-evaluation of William Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) by measuring its formalist taxonomy against the evolving demands of twentieth-century and contemporary poetry. Operating as a structural bridge between close-reading summaries and practical textual analysis, the study traces Empson’s seven distinct categories of linguistic and psychological complexity. While his framework proves highly effective for diagnosing multi-layered meanings in earlier classical works, this paper tests its ongoing validity through selected work of W.B. Yeats's modernist piece "The Second Coming" and Carol Ann Duffy's late twentieth-century poem "Medusa." The analysis demonstrates that while Empson’s fourth and second types accurately map deep psychological dualities, contemporary texts frequently strain his 1930 model. Modern poetic ambiguity often relies on external ideological context, identity politics, and subverted intertextuality rather than isolated syntactic mechanics. Moreover, this paper argues that while Empson's closed-circuit textual approach requires modification to address post-structuralist realities, his core assertion that literary value stems from simultaneous, competing truths remains a vital foundation for modern literary scholarship.},
        keywords = {Ambiguity, New Criticism, Modernist Poetry, Textual Taxonomy, Close Reading, Formalism.},
        month = {June},
        }