Roland Barthes’ Article “Death of the Author”

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Roland Barthes’ literary exploration
Author’s death concept
Significance of the death of the author for postmodern literature
Conclusion

Introduction

The essay, or article by Roland Barthes, was written in 1967 to criticize traditional literary analysis. Before the sensational statement of Roland Barthes, literary criticism perceived the author of a work and the work itself as a whole, and people viewed the author’s personality through the prism of what was written (and vice versa). Literary critics tended to interpret what was written through the prism of biographical material relating to the author and his life. It is a crucial work of literary criticism and structuralism as a philosophical movement, echoing other philosophical works and lectures (for example, Michel Foucault’s studies). It had a key influence on the formation of a view of postmodernism, and the death of the author became one of the central concepts in new literature and art in general.

Roland Barthes’ literary exploration

Roland Barthes lived a long and rich academic life, having managed to create magnificent masterpieces of literary thought in the form of analytical articles. They are dedicated to rhetoric, philosophy, art, theater, advertising, photography, history, and many other aspects of modern life. Barthes’ language analysis draws the line between the unique use of language by one person (the author) and an entire nation, a mass of people who speak the same vocabulary. Barthes asks questions about the understanding of speech and text, its completeness, and its uniqueness.

Author’s death concept

The screaming title “death of the author” attracts the attention of students and young scientists in the field of humanities, art history, and literary criticism. Barthes tries to separate the author as a person with his life experience and work in this concept. This text view differs radically from the previous one, which has been going on since (least) medieval times. As soon as it is handed over to the viewer, the work completed by the author no longer belongs to him. The viewer reads it, examines it, and compares it with his thoughts and feelings. The reader has the right to breathe any meaning into the text because Barthes postulates complete freedom of interpretation. The author, of course, can claim some of his interpretation and comments to his works, but these comments will not be of more excellent value than the interpretations of the masses of people reading the text. A completed work of art (this applies to literature and painting, cinema, and music) is a public domain and a subject of general discussion.

Significance of the death of the author for postmodern literature

For the then intellectual community, the concept of the death of the author became a sensation. Subsequently, there were a lot of comments on Bart’s statement. Many wanted to find the author’s killer and understand deeper into the issue of authorship in general. Considering literary art retrospectively, one can always pay attention to the place of the author in creativity. Barth’s concept influenced postmodern ideas such as rhizomes and allowed literature to become less rigid and dependent on a single person (creator). Additional meanings, freedom of thought, and interpretation are consequences that quickly emerged after Roland Barthes’ essay publication.

Conclusion

Roland Barthes’ analyzed essay introduces to the public of the 1960s the concept of the “death of the author,” overturning the understanding of literary criticism. This concept seems absurd to many of Bart’s colleagues, devoid of logic. However, other colleagues of Barthes take this idea and fit it into their images. Now the death of the author is logically inscribed in contemporary art, be it painting or cinema. It is evidenced by the possibilities of free and varied interpretation for people of any education, experience, and professionalism.

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Roland Barthes’ Article “Death of the Author”

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