The Death of the Author: WTF? Roland Barthes' Death of the Author Explained

The Death of the Author: WTF? Roland Barthes' Death of the Author Explained | Tom Nicholas

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Күн бұрын

Roland Barthes’ The Death of the Author is a seminal text in the development of literary theory. Often considered the moment when structuralism gave way to poststructuralism as the dominant approach to cultural analysis, in The Death of the Author, Roland Barthes argues not only that we should not place too much emphasis on authorial intent when analysing a cultural text but also that the popular conception of the act of authorship might be altogether wrong.
In this episode of What The Theory?, I aim to provide a Death of the Author summary and analysis both drawing out key ideas from Barthes’ essay and considering what the ramifications might be for how we analyse or read a text.
Further Reading
Image Music Text by Roland Barthes (includes The Death of the Author)
US: amzn.to/2HToJ7C
UK: amzn.to/2TRXFar
Mythologies by Roland Barthes (a fantastic and truly accessible example of structuralist analysis)
US: amzn.to/2FV3jVz
UK: amzn.to/2TTc6L7
Barthes: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Culler
US: amzn.to/2HRkXvv
UK: amzn.to/2COC25a
[The above are affiliate links. I receive a small kickback from anything you buy which, in turn, helps to support the channel.]
If you’ve enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as PhD vlogs in which I talk about some of the challenges of being a PhD student then do consider subscribing.
Thanks for watching!
Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas
Website: www.tomnicholas.com

Пікірлер: 220

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Hi all! Thanks for watching, I hope you found the video helpful in some way! If you'd like to support me to make more videos like this, and to influence what topics I cover next, then I've just launched a Patreon. I'd love it if you'd take the time to check it out and, if you're able, would really appreciate your support! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/tomnicholas

@opollitico 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Tom, great video! I did my own video essay about this topic, care to give it a watch! It would be amazing to hear your thoughts! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mNWHqbV_qKqbonk.html

@bawbtherevelator6445 2 жыл бұрын

Your interpretation resonates to me: Age 79 I was TKO'd by a BMW and shouldn't have lived. To that point I'd tried futilely to grasp ALL THE POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS. Since, with reduced options available I can no longer try to account for every interpretive possibility. A tough lesson I DON'T RECOMMEND but reassuring nonetheless. Thanks, Amigo :)

@jamiej.barker9762 4 жыл бұрын

I thought my theory exam was going to be the death of me, not the author. But then I found your your videos. Thank you!!!!!!

@maitri_negi 2 жыл бұрын

🤣

@joshmhervosotros4935 Жыл бұрын

This joke aged well hahahaha

@chantzukit681 4 жыл бұрын

God bless you Tom. You've been helping me out through high school... Noww I'm in college.

@Justrf1001 5 жыл бұрын

Hey man just wanted to say I think it's great that you do this - there's literally no book reviewers or analysers on KZfaq and this is amazing

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Ah, thanks for dropping by to say so, really appreciate it! Really glad you get something out of them!

@_Itandehui 2 жыл бұрын

I was so confused while reading this essay. I almost cried because i couldn't understand this but you my friend are a god of explaining the most difficult topics! Thank you so much! and of course I definitely subscribed to your channel! you will be my lifesaver for my literary theory course!

@JessyJessie288 5 жыл бұрын

Hey Tom! Just wanted to let you know that you've saved my butt this entire academic year and I really wanted to tell you how much of a life saver you are! Thank you for your time and efforts! See you in the next video.

@owlberry5997 4 жыл бұрын

You're the savior of my History of Literature exam. I love you. Thanks for the videos!

@yoongified1332 Жыл бұрын

You did a great explanation of this essay. I like how you give us the big picture of the essay (context) and you then delve into the vital parts. Thanks a lot!

@swarnimadharwal6323 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Tom! This video was really helpful. Your use of hand gestures while explaining the text is really impressive.

@catherineflynn9182 3 жыл бұрын

Your videos are so, so helpful! This October I'll be starting my MA in English Lit after a 7 year break from university study and I'm trying to blow off the cobwebs. Thank you for all that you do, you're definitely helping me refresh my brain!

@rostrider588 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I struggle with theory so much and this video puts things down so simply i can go back and read with all the important details in mind!!

@maceocortezz7263 5 жыл бұрын

Hello Tom! I’ve already liked and subscribed, but wanted to further reach out to express my gratitude for this channel. I’m an actor at drama school, so in purely vocational training. But I have a huge interest in the more academic side of theatre, literature, and culture. Your channel has helped enabled me to help educate myself outside of my training! Thank you so much!

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Ah, cheers for saying so Maceo. Always nice to hear from a fellow theatre person too! Hope your training's going well. I'd certainly say that, if you want to make your own work on graduating, then a curiosity to learn is always a good thing!

@isabelrobinson1830 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Your analysis is clear, succinct and intelligent. I needed this video in order to understand my homework this week.

@petersmith9633 5 жыл бұрын

It baffles me why people think that humans can't do two things. You can only find your interpretation of a story or you can search for the author’s intent but never shall you attempt to do both. Clearly, great authors have intent lest their works be on par to cheap pulp novels or a disjointed series of events that have the illusion of having relevance such as a Matthew Blarney film. Finding the message in fantastic works is enjoyable while allowing me to find my own personal interpretations. In cinema, David Lynch tells a story using metaphor and abstract imagery which lends itself to interpretation while seeking to know the author's intent. See, we can do two things. Not impossible unless you’re a lazy thinker.

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Absolutely, both approaches can be interesting.

@asmafirdous1473 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's about whether or not we can do both or that if we should do just one. The idea is that even if one as a writer comes to his narrative with an intention, he/she cannot deny or for that matter escape the effect of social constructs and conditioning on his/ ideas. In this very essay, Barthes for example repeatedly says that other than the author, it is the LANGUAGE which speaks. Language in itself is a politically constructed thing. In a way, the tool that I might use as a writer to write my INTENTION is already very much not so pure. It doesn't matter what I came to the text with, as Whimsat and Beardsley said , if the author intends it, it will be there. So when one analyses a text without considering the existence of the author, every single meaning is sought. The idea at large is to disregard the sense of A centre. An Author-God.

@cemarz 2 жыл бұрын

Lynch is the most abstract film maker with any clout and even he gets pissed when people misread his stuff. He wants people to feel specific things. It's a brand of story and he has intent on what he wants to convey. And his stories are notorious for having a huge range of fan theories that go completely against his intent.

@Killerbee_McTitties Жыл бұрын

@@asmafirdous1473 I think the main question here relates to how humans take possession of things or what ownership means. While it's completely legitimate to frame things as Barthes did, that the cultural context has a huge influence on your ideas, themes and methods, which thereby aren't your own, one could also argue that good authors actually take possession of those things, because they're not merely reproducing them but adding to them and by employing them as an instrument/tool to write the story with they take possession of them. An author that fails to take possession of these things on the other hand merely employs them in a sort of formulaic and normative way, not because he thinks they can serve him but because he thinks he has to, ultimately serving them.

@kennadesigns 3 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed this analysis, I'm currently studying Fine Art in college, and some of these readings can be really difficult to decipher upon first glance. Glad I have a literary pro to help me understand what I should be getting from these readings, really helps me put them in context for my courses.

@lydiaann5261 5 ай бұрын

four years later after you've posted this and just want you to know that I appreciate your work in this video. I'm taking my first university Book History class and struggling so much with feeling I'm not intelligent enough to understand these works. but this really helps me frame the passage better, thank you thank you thank you!!

@joonhopeschimatejinskookie899 2 жыл бұрын

5:23 barthes, importance of cultural context 9:13 aspect of the essay 9:27 Whimsatt and breadley intentional fallacy 11:28 Balzac sarrasine

@SpikySpirit 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for this. This theory is my main point of reference for my dissertation. Your video's really helped me get my head around the whole thing! X

@jenhalbert3001 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Tom. I've heard the term before but now for the first time understand what it means. It's a fascinating concept and makes a lot of sence.

@mohammadrezasaberi6267 4 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate your efforts. the video was a very useful, well-formulated one. thanks and create more . Fingers crossed

@joannepinto8294 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for making this. It's been a great help!

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

I’m so glad Joanne! Thanks for saying so!

@teenypawsco. 4 жыл бұрын

You are amazingg!! Thank you so much for these videos, they are literally helping me through my literary theory course :'(

@fazalmin 3 жыл бұрын

This must be one of your best explanatory videos. Every comment you made was to the point!

@anotherwisequietroom3404 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I've just started uni and this has made my approach to Barthes much more comfortable. Last week's reading on Shakespeare took me four days to unpack- this is incredibly helpful. Thankyou- creator of AOQR, Mandy Connell.

@nonranghae1713 3 жыл бұрын

The video was incredibly helpful! Thank you for this!

@yuyaozhou3717 Жыл бұрын

This is so concise and clear thank you so much Tom!!!

@thebricklifestudios5683 3 жыл бұрын

I needed this for a uni essay. Thank you Tom!

@mykasalomeong2572 3 жыл бұрын

Very concise and comprehensive! Thank you!

@uswahzahid6586 4 жыл бұрын

That was great help! Thank you so much!!

@infinitafenix3153 4 жыл бұрын

A very clear and well-organised summary, besides, your language and accent are wonderful. A valuable contribution to youtube! Thanks a lot Tom!

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you liked the video!

@LogicGated 3 жыл бұрын

Learned a hell of a lot binge watching Tom's channel

@tombaird7902 2 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate this video. I have to write a paper on this theory and now I feel ready to ace it. Thanks for the help.

@kcl6839 4 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU TOM. Very well explained!

@sherrywang2755 Жыл бұрын

Your explanation is very clear and understandable. Thank you very much!

@Brictrix 5 жыл бұрын

Great video. Just watched Mulholland Drive last night and your video very much helped me make sense of it all. Keep up the good work

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

I've never actually seen Mullholland Drive. It's been on my to-be-watched list for a long time but I'm yet to get round to it. Perhaps I should!

@emanel-sayed5571 Жыл бұрын

It's really helpful. Thank you❤

@xempt93 4 жыл бұрын

This was an excellent analysis and explanation. Thank you!

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers for saying so Jonathan!

@limchunlean123 5 жыл бұрын

Awesome intro to a key text. Good one. Thumbs up for you!

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Ah, thank you, appreciate you saying so! And thanks for the thumbs up!

@HxH2011DRA 4 жыл бұрын

I do so ever like it when influential text are short and simple, makes it easier for me XD. Really tho I do like the arguments, and you presented them well as always- thank you💜. I feel I have a much more solid grasp on structuralism now. Time to move to the next training arc that is post-structuralism~

@VineyardboatProductionsTM 5 жыл бұрын

Please never stop making this videos

@waters_sam 4 жыл бұрын

This was helpful :) Thank you!

@mayanma 5 жыл бұрын

I found this presentation useful and interesting and followed every word. Thank you.

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

I'm very glad Narasimhan, thanks for taking the time to say so!

@nakiryamaria1088 2 жыл бұрын

Very helpful, thanks so much

@Dawgy96 5 жыл бұрын

Love your interpretations Tom, great work

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Adam, really appreciate you saying so!

@thetourettesgamer8851 5 жыл бұрын

Nice work, my teacher showed us this video today

@WinningSidekick 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting!

@36cmbr 2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating and insightful review.

@rachelwilton4939 3 жыл бұрын

This was awesome! Thanks so much

@hectordorantes9988 4 жыл бұрын

I love your videos and analysis Tom, greetings from Mexico!

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Hector, really glad you've got something out of my videos!

@levi-wg6vd 2 жыл бұрын

Very helpful, thank you! 💗

@kaieclacher-chopra2257 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Useful vid

@tessfra7695 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the clear explanation.

@brajakishore2475 Жыл бұрын

excellent analysis and interpretation👍

@Lak735 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent concise and clear deconstruction of the meaning of deconstructionism.

@timvdvelden1218 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for this video!

@charlottemay671 5 жыл бұрын

Hi Tom, found this video really insightful! Your ideas on the importance of cultural context was particularly interesting - how big a part do you think cultural context plays a part in novels, poetry and other works? Another thought could perhaps be whether we should limit context to only the cultural side, or whether it should extend to society and background contextual factors as well. Would you also perhaps consider doing videos on eco-criticism and also different types of feminist criticism such as gynocriticism or phallocenticism? xx

@reneetantuachut5829 4 жыл бұрын

thank you c: this was a great help!!

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

No worries, glad it helped!

@hangingjeans 4 жыл бұрын

My God. You really know what you’re talking about. Thanks for making this video!

@abdallahdannaoui 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for such an excellent explanation! Would it be possible to give an example of a film, other than Martin McDonagh's 2017 'Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri' ?

@becca5161 2 жыл бұрын

omg thank you! you explained this way better in 15 minutes than my professor attempted to in 2 hours

@mmmrose421 3 жыл бұрын

Very good video good concise explanation

@InfinityProTeam 4 жыл бұрын

This is interesting, thank you for the video. I am currently doing an essay on a structuralist analysis to a poem. Can I still use this Barthes essay to support my structuralist points or will it contradict the whole point of structuralism? Also, how can I speak about context and the poets personal life without contradicting structuralism? Thanks!

@ritambasu8880 4 жыл бұрын

It was really helpful, tom. Would like to get in touch with you. Love and regards from India.

@AbdurRahman-mb1vr 4 жыл бұрын

I give you a first class for this presentation. Excellent! you will make a fantastic teacher

@parkesonline 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this! I found the text almost completely inaccessible. Barthes ought to have written his text as you explained it, with consumable language and examples. The entire time I was reading it I had to translate from a different kind of English before then trying to comprehend it, and it was far more laborious than it should/could have been.

@poudink5791 2 жыл бұрын

Dude wrote it in French. I know there's a lot of loan words, but no wonder you had to translate.

@mohamedmousa4272 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Tom 😊

@RafaelArdilesLemke 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tom. Greatings from Brazil.

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

No worries Rafael, hope you found it interesting!

@ericqiangliu5839 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much. Very useful video. Some of my teachers have made the assumpation that Barthes was against authorship（authoritarian）... Glad I watched this one.

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for saying so! I think there's a tendency to introduce it as a slightly more uncompromising text than it is in order to make it a bit more exciting. I can see why some do so and Barthes certaintly doesn't discourage that with his choice of language! But I actually think it's more useful to focus on its subtleties.

@ericqiangliu5839 5 жыл бұрын

@@Tom_Nicholas Thanks for your kind reply. I have been following your channel for six months and I watched all your videos. What The theory, Politix and PhD vlogs are my favorites. Any chance for you to do a Scottish theatre intro? I am planning to do a reseach on Scottish theatre and I will be thrilled to get some advice from such knowledgeable person like you. Thanks again from China.

@wiktoriaohotski9130 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! Do you have a video on Wolfgang Iser's Reader-Response Theory?

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

No worries at all! And I don’t yet but it’s very likely something I’ll make in the future!

@manythings3 5 жыл бұрын

thank you... that was really helpful

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

No worries, glad to hear it was helpful!

@bladee9700 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, mate!!

@vectaaze3188 5 жыл бұрын

Wonderful video. I would love to see an art theory video at some point (preferably on an affective theory of art like tolstoy's).

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I do try to occasionally touch on visual art and am keen to do a set of videos on aesthetics in the near future which will likely look a lot at visual art. It's always something I've been a bit hesitant to do as I'm far less knowledgeable about visual art than narrative-based stuff. Certainly keen to give it a try in the future though!

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching all! If you want more of that sweet sweet Roland Barthes content then I made a video a while back on his essay From Work To Text which might be of interest: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mLOFd6qD27yzfJs.html

@user-lf3yu4xd4b 5 жыл бұрын

So funny that you said. Sweet sweet Roland barthe.but thanks to you, I start to understand a little of him and regard him cute:D

@stevenbosch429 5 жыл бұрын

I’m reading Mary Kate’s “The Art of Memoir” . Her approach is based on the relationship the writer has with h/er reader. All questions of structure and style are decided by what feelings the reader gets from the piece. In her memoirs she declares she revises her work ruthlessly ;dates places, all relevant data from the public record, and then shows the current draft of her memoir to the people mentioned.

@FrederikWeitz 4 жыл бұрын

That's very essential; very useful, and, so I think, the best one can do in twenty minutes, but incomplete on the other side.

@Tom_Nicholas 4 жыл бұрын

Well, yes, these videos are always going to be incomplete in some way (and I would never encourage people to watch them instead of reading the original text(s)) but glad you found it a good summary!

@ree9487 5 жыл бұрын

You are the best! Keep it up

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for saying so, hope you found it interesting!

@diserio2708 5 ай бұрын

YOU ARE AMAZING THANK YOU

@amalmathew3908 5 ай бұрын

Very nice intro ❤

@pavnigaurangi 4 жыл бұрын

Hey, can you suggest some critical reading with regard to Death of the Author?

@kollisoraya2938 2 жыл бұрын

Hello thank you for all ,I have a question can I analyse a film using only the five rules of Ronald barth or should I use cinematography

@lingsuave4604 5 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU SOOO MUCHHHH

@gailcbull Жыл бұрын

I wonder how Bart would've felt if he realized that his writings would be end up with as many different interpretations as the fiction he was talking about analyzing. I have seen the "death of the author" used by readers to explain their love of classic fiction; by filmmakers to justify completely ignoring the themes of an original work and to enforce their own world view on adaptation; and by the film industry in general to excuse reducing the input screenwriters have on a film to "somewhere below what test audiences have to say about it". Like all theories about interpretation, it can used constructively or destructively. The goal is not to let any one theory of literature adaptation dominate your thinking to the point that you close your mind to alternate interpretations of the text.

@jayl.6960 5 жыл бұрын

Hello Tom, do you have anything about Metamodernism?

@RainbowSprnklz 4 жыл бұрын

Good vid my dude Edit: MY DUDE, gooooooood vid

@emmaw2626 5 жыл бұрын

So helpful x

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it, thanks for saying so Emma!

@36cmbr 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@Xavyer13 2 жыл бұрын

This video was useful in a big way

@jessegermans8355 4 жыл бұрын

Your comment regarding ancient greece sprung to my mind as well. However, how does this states itself in regard to the authors of tragedy and comedy? They were widely celebrated for the masterpiece they created and the actors in the piece have a more comparable role as to being graced for their performance but not for their ''genius of creation''.

@yusufism4885 2 жыл бұрын

Man! Maaaan! You're awesome

@PujaKumari-pn9cf 3 жыл бұрын

My master's exams are from 13 Feb.... And here I am.... Very helpful 👍

@matt_cummins28 5 жыл бұрын

Just to echo the comments of others ... fab stuff: clear, knowledgable, accessible. Thanks.

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mr Moose! Really appreciate you saying so, I always have a moment of doubt the moment I upload so it's always great to get some positive feedback!

@pexfmezccle 5 жыл бұрын

Tom, you remind me of Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton)

@Tom_Nicholas 5 жыл бұрын

Haha, I get that a lot on here! Never in real like though so I think it might be a case of vague vague similarity plus British accent...

@pexfmezccle 5 жыл бұрын

@@Tom_Nicholas people are much more frank online haha, sorry. don't flay me!

@gauravdubey6989 4 жыл бұрын

@@Tom_Nicholas Yeah..You exactly look like Bolton! Have you watched GoT?

@frogwhisperer2067 4 жыл бұрын

Domeric Bolton fancast

@ikkaul6810 5 жыл бұрын

Can't thank you enough!!

@farhinashekh3219 3 жыл бұрын

You are awesome......😘😘😘just love to watch your video

@sophiebrudenell-bruce5268 Жыл бұрын

You’ve made an impossible essay more digestible, thanks

@natsukitatsumakiniji 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the explanation. As someone who enjoys writing about a world from her imagination and challenging herself to new writing techniques, I can now say I have no interest in ever publishing. This gives new meaning to writing just for me.

@squiremontressor3747 3 жыл бұрын

I think I understand but can you explain a little?