 In other words, a poem or other work of art is independent of its creator, just as any other artifact—a pudding or a washing machine—is. A pudding consists of milk, eggs, and other ingredients; a washing machine of a metal drum, rubber gaskets, and other parts; and a poem of words. In all three cases, the parts exist and are what they are independently of the artificers, and the artifacts are to be judged—and interpreted—on the basis of their properties. There’s no need to bring in the artificer, for he doesn’t remain behind in the parts, and critical judgment, including interpretation, concerns the how, why, what, and how well of the artifact, not the how, why, what, or how well of the artificer. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, not the chef’s intentions.