The Death of the Author

What do you think of Barthes’s overall claim that the author and his or her intentions are of no relevance when interpreting the meaning of a text? In evaluating his argument, cite and compare some examples from your own reading experience that seem to support his thesis and some that seem to refute it.

Barthes’s argument seems quite extreme. If he is taken seriously, all communication should be held as being uncertain in meaning, and the possibility of reaching definitive understanding is placed out of reach. Should we believe him? Why or why not?

Think of a short piece of writing (a poem, a passage from a story, an advertisement, etc.) and write an essay in which you interpret it as a “text”—that is, as a “tissue” or fabric of multiple voices. How does this support Barthes’s claim that the author is “dead”?