The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.

The author was killed by Roland Barthes in 1968 in the essay "The Death of the Author". This was an act of euthanasia, forming part of a larger poststructuralist project of putting down obdurate rhetorical practices in literature, where the endorsement of myths like authenticity, the repre...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sten Moslund
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Edinburgh 2005-12-01
Series:Forum
Online Access:http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/545
_version_ 1818398128476258304
author Sten Moslund
author_facet Sten Moslund
author_sort Sten Moslund
collection DOAJ
description The author was killed by Roland Barthes in 1968 in the essay "The Death of the Author". This was an act of euthanasia, forming part of a larger poststructuralist project of putting down obdurate rhetorical practices in literature, where the endorsement of myths like authenticity, the representational value of language, the idea of the final analysis, according to Barthes, had unreasonably governed the ways in which literature was written, read and understood. The author figured as a mark of power, as the authority of a closed sign-system, dictating, or centralising, the ways in which a text must be read. With the author over and done with and the general rhetorical ploys of narration demasked, stripping language to represent nothing but itself, the stage was set for a new understanding (and practice) of literature as a particularly decentred and liberating zone that would seize on any form of power discourse - history, anthropology, politics, religion, etc - still abusing the powers of deception in language in the interest of the speaker.
first_indexed 2024-12-14T06:59:52Z
format Article
id doaj.art-8346dfe840744bba86098ac439989ee9
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1749-9771
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-14T06:59:52Z
publishDate 2005-12-01
publisher University of Edinburgh
record_format Article
series Forum
spelling doaj.art-8346dfe840744bba86098ac439989ee92022-12-21T23:12:28ZengUniversity of EdinburghForum1749-97712005-12-0101545The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.Sten Moslund0University of Southern DenmarkThe author was killed by Roland Barthes in 1968 in the essay "The Death of the Author". This was an act of euthanasia, forming part of a larger poststructuralist project of putting down obdurate rhetorical practices in literature, where the endorsement of myths like authenticity, the representational value of language, the idea of the final analysis, according to Barthes, had unreasonably governed the ways in which literature was written, read and understood. The author figured as a mark of power, as the authority of a closed sign-system, dictating, or centralising, the ways in which a text must be read. With the author over and done with and the general rhetorical ploys of narration demasked, stripping language to represent nothing but itself, the stage was set for a new understanding (and practice) of literature as a particularly decentred and liberating zone that would seize on any form of power discourse - history, anthropology, politics, religion, etc - still abusing the powers of deception in language in the interest of the speaker.http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/545
spellingShingle Sten Moslund
The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
Forum
title The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
title_full The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
title_fullStr The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
title_full_unstemmed The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
title_short The Phantom Walking the Text: The Death of the Author Reconsidered.
title_sort phantom walking the text the death of the author reconsidered
url http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/545
work_keys_str_mv AT stenmoslund thephantomwalkingthetextthedeathoftheauthorreconsidered
AT stenmoslund phantomwalkingthetextthedeathoftheauthorreconsidered