Writer’s Workshop
Period 1
Ms. Dziedzic
Barthes Companion
Roland Barthes’ The Death of the Author (1967) synopsis- Roland Barthes
was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician. Barthes'
ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of
schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, social theory, anthropology and
post-structuralism. He wrote the essay “The Death of the Author” in 1967 as a poststructuralist text. Barthes’ essay argues against traditional literary criticism's
practice of incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author in an
interpretation of a text, and instead argues that writing and creator are unrelated.
For the following individual writers, philosophers, characters and artists
you will be responsible for (1) researching who they are, (2) compiling a list of
three of their most popular works, (3) discovering the time period in which they
completed those works and (4) what literary period/theory of thought they
contributed to.
- If the author has a work titled next to it you are responsible for (1)
knowing when the work was written and (2) what the focus of the work is
References:
-
Balzac (Surrasine)
o
o
o
o
-
Baudelaire (Paradis Artificiels)
o
o
o
o
-
Van Gogh
o
o
o
o
-
Tchaikovsky
o
o
o
o
-
Stéphane Mallarmé
o
o
o
o
-
Marcel Proust
o
o
o
o
-
Charles-Louis, Baron de Montesquieu
o
o
o
o
-
Bertolt Brecht
o
o
o
o
-
Thomas de Quincey
o
o
o
o
-
Jean-Pierre Vernant
o
o
o
o
Concepts:
I have provided the following definitions and important ideologies of the literary
and social concepts mentioned in Barthes’ piece. These will help you get to the
bottom of Barthes’ focus and not get tangled in his allusions.
-
English empiricism
o A theory of knowledge in which knowledge is obtained through
sensory experiences and evidence; learning from what one sees,
feels, hears, and etc.
o John Locke was a leading philosopher in British empiricism
o “Knowledge is based on experience”
-
French rationalism
o Important figures: François-Marie Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau,
and Charles de Secondat, (baron de Montesquieu)
o A philosophy which deals in intellectual and deductive reasoning and
believes reality can be explained through mathematical calculations
and logical principles
-
Reformation
o The reforming of the church after Henry VIII broke from Rome to
establish the Church of England in the 16th century
-
Capitalist ideology
o Competitive economic system in which industries are owned by
private businesses which set prices and regulations for market
economies
o Focus remains on the power of an individual business’s gain rather
than the productivity of the industry
-
Rhetoric
o The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, while utilizing
the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
-
Modernity
o Post- traditional historic period
o Charles Baudelaire is credited with coining the term "modernity" to
describe the experience of life in an urban metropolis, and the
responsibility art has to capture that experience.
o Surrealism

Cultural movement in the 1920’s often described as a
revolutionary movement featuring elements of surprise,
unexpected juxtapositions of dreams and reality
-
Hypostases (Literature)
o A literary moment when characters in fiction become aware of their
own fictional nature
o Hypostasis (linguistic) example: “I'm tired of your ifs and buts.” The
usage meaning of the word is referred to as a whole.
-
Intertextuality
o Using another text to make meaning of a different text
-
Anti-theological
o Opposing theology; theology being the study of God and the
truthfulness of religion
-
Humanism
o A philosophical and ethical stance that focuses on the important of
human beings, as individuals and as a species; preferring critical
thinking/evidence above doctrine/faith
-
Antiphrastical Recriminations
o Antiphrasis- the ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite
to the generally accepted meanings example: “this giant of 3 feet 4
inches”
o Recrimination or accusation in an antiphrasisical manner would be a
backhanded ironic statement meant to undermine the recipient
Vocabulary
1. Castrato
2. Femininity
3. Romantic psychology
4. Composite
5. Oblique
6. Intransitively
7. Ethnographic
8. Positivism
9. Allegory
10. Prerequisite
11. Impersonality
12. Encumbered
13. Ego
14. Linguistic
15. Militated
16. Recourse
17. Inexorably
18. Subtilization
19. Historical reality
20. Subversion
21. Illusory
22. Desacrilization
23. Enunciation
24. Interlocutors
25. Veritable
26. Antecedence/ predicate
27. Theological
28. Innumerable centres
29. Anterior
30. Exemplary
31. Hypostases
32. Multiplicity
33. Posits
34. Systemic
35. Constitutively ambiguous
36. Unilaterally
37. Dialogue, parody, contestation
38. Hitherto
39. Derisory
40. Antiphrastically recrimination