Introduction: A Prehistory ofthe Death ofthe Author hc aig he ry of dn i le be ‘Nocd yar pers cf developmen coed afer he event One aot chee’ by Ralind Bathe hn he ecb he orgs of ‘Sinko trsntorlim a svexng oss Malem hog Yay Pon Sree’ lings ease tally ie Of exam cel, Pos howe peed cone ‘sol bignicbe ccm, neve ecard anything reel ee Ung the ena the nth, Wry av fen ot ted ovo (Word conel ovr ad pins he oman aon of spon ‘hd Soc, wt may hve pene er weer fo expen ‘Teovonat wing ay beer ad sclera mediated ce pom Tinea theory? very wre Jet Borge sce is ove recarars( lepn y yig mong eer things thal tlc ty not Ec) ad ints ce Bets gue py covering ‘era hoy of mare le pedecesos wth sv sgt in of ale Innes Teed the rere ced, ay Mallar ha any pce aiahage of ahora Jone ‘Norns Barts ba Fowl and Desde sho shown shes copes scp Malar scone, dif we ok a post 0 ‘Pmownrenasnampoatnl vedic by teow pegs soe of heel eve yn tha cous “Toe arene ips the dappennce ofthe poetapeke who ‘else neo woe ely he guy eee in Tewcallston wih one nother hy sn one anata ps leave ve pesos ony eplicing he leben, tere vv nthe vale peronatywch deed te Lr seructure of a book of verse muse arise throughout from incr erty =n way oh dane a esto al be A Pky of te thf te At ° sled .. sme symmey which wil ase fom the elation of lines witha che pocrn and poems within the vole, wl eck ‘ut beyond the volume go ober poets who wl temseoes ine fon pul space the expanding parph of genun, anonymous and evict like work of at" “Thediappezanceof the writer. theastonomy of wring, the bginng of Jerre o a et of texts dapsone power oF langaage > orgie td orchexate ful without any subj ftrventon whatsoever the oton ofthe ntertextanng of literature ~al hese po-teorsel hemes ae lad out he eps form by thi pssge. Wh Malla the waie origin of here which the romantic sou emately in magistion, ori he Mae, on dcovered within ngage tl. The dloceine of tospdon departs fom the sublmiy of divin origin std dops ts countersuime: the anonymous unraveling of word on the prey of age, words writen nthe sence of Gods, Miser and mortals Te wonder then, ha Barthes shold each Mallarmé che amg he heres otha Foucault shoal ay Tothe Nitaschean question" Who ropeaking” Mallarmé reps ly sping eh wha speaking sold, ni gle vibe ton oi nothingnen, the word lf. Mali wat contacly icing hinsl from his own anguage to he pine OF no wishing tofigueinitexepeasanexecutanin pre ceremony ofthe Book ‘which the dscoure would compose ll rs git pose da all the quesion now eonttonting ur cutout ate prseted rds Inthe distance tha was never cowed heeneen Nite’ ueion and Malm reply ‘A Foucalt himuelf Enows at wll a8 anyone, however, no histor probleme can be contained within sich delcte femmes. Beyond the ‘bviow contiction of eabing Malling the ath, t were, of the authors dappesrance~ a Tounling aber of the death ofthe Eber “hiring of thi kind at best mhopoc and a wor, perverse Forelogoen and conc a such pete ako mytentory in hat the theoreti bss ofthe movement ga the subject of wig ge ‘bscared and diplsced, Mallarmé dcr does not sate ela the opening of erry theory we owt, bu reptset a tenebous cali sion af the romani doceine of epicion. Furthermore, Malan ottendeing theoretic even ede ements wetng Rather Ine i evoking, om the one hand, certain compositoal mood whereby the poet atemps to emp hie 9f pcr ences beloe the poetic acd, on the oer the steric wll o-inpersonality sich a was to10 ‘he hon Rew fie tier recemerge with TS. lie and others early inthis century An ies of Terre aduinbrted n Malla, but nr theory. "Recourse to Malle in hi contexts of courte quite convenient sn dat his dace frm tory, nhs distance inte fom Barthes, Fovemle a Desde ensures tht thee work will or be een in dese tive colour: in much the ne way, Freud pefetedt look to che Gresk fpocs ate than tothe nearer and more dheeening gues of Schone Fuce and Nieasche as he forebeae of peyehoanlyti theory. What the French posttrctrat appeal to Mallen shies isa more dic snd Serpenie history of inaences which clot in the moder aterpe to desoy the author sabes ‘Ope ofthe easer and more hoyle tore path lading othe announcement ofthe death ofthe sutbor eaves along the Ear cet {which the work ofthe Rosa Formals pases though Cres and French soctrisn to culminate i che posesracarlism paced by arcs, Foal and Derr in he 1940 Along this out, he Fore fi relaction ofthe ator inthe interests of establishing scence of itet- area logue ls ser to fw vewally undisturbed int the modern theory of Iteneare, Sach 2 hiory of developments, though, ery types the enormous influence of phenomenology on French shot tpt the mi 1950y am nflence tm which Barthes, Foucault nd Decide tee tmere in she exe tages of tee lier eres, ‘Hones refomalaion of the comecious subject asthe ground of olde eased pees inflence no is native Germany bat French pilosophical tation which fr thre centuries ied in the ‘alow of Catenism. Faced wi the development of a modern cit. Franec’ new generation of lsophers ~ most notably Jea-Paal Saetre inl Maurie Meven-Poaty~ thew eels inc the serbian texts ita the phenomenelogialrevions of Martin Heidegger. For sis and tober of eer restos the ae texts of stactarisn ~ though hey \tereall write in French ~ ped by with lle oF recognition From a [tele cultre who horizons were bound by the study of comscous test and the msendenal phenomenological soe. ‘Nataly the phenomenological movement Fane was y no means homogeneous and i various sone atest 0 dierent polns of dept- fee Sue extent reading of phenomenology tok is beings from Heldegger, whist Merlexo-Pony’s work looked to che cai ‘Hamer formation fri revisonary impets. Ye all he versions of henomenology tha developed daring ths period srt comsnon eos A rit the a fee Ar " inthe aeion of een. Su conbon~ wel comer today serpin mi red costed gyn euing He fen owl sol pm th ae a lesen whch el ret cas on te wel individual freedom. . a ee “Thogh sow bey oo of ror, wash exe edng of rheromenloy wih ied mon ae dig the 1940 py ‘owe St cake andl mend on peda ‘eenny compre only tf Vl sme fe emer ‘spose weight nv, olen oa ce a ‘ended tention a fc ety Bord ploy thc 18 plc, sd poids ee whe med of he copped dotor, plieal-comnincd wre wwe wok nd wow ace. tails of poral sl pl edo nll pecs of io-dy een Sirs dl ef eps Ising npn on Dar, otc and Dene Deda a mode ‘hc T hives aged ntl: neoprene lee Fortemor, th gr of Serco nal non fr al the tees enplrs he esomenolglmete arth, Fc nd Day hl eloped vlc in conn in ih i aoe 4 mgg as cep forte in grer cemuy, Phenom inl omer ther he Engle rac fomed te bao ‘hel racer In Bares ho he om af chao the ‘monn mans oo phenome pre wich pepe se trl came A tome mn by aes ina oe af 154 tn Rabe Gil twa jo Ew fr ew hin om fangs Ahem lng Robie wr, he menos wage Crd ecg texce mah word olga whe tye ofa cole, plo of Gad br wth ce cess man wttking ny ns a thes horton be pce rl oo Othe pe sn ht a om pe Der fri pu, hd vend ool nthe pheno ‘en nig orn ee no eo Ike Hylan pesomealoy Dug the i180 he wy rep 2 Jct het lel The ty the Litery Oe ee ‘eich ewe ok ne ane of hw ngsnge mig dle Thoveupy ane he sme ole percent, ‘Salis i pvp dos in even, and he ee2 "he Dated Ret fe Ath founding figures of poxstructurss might wel hae developed int the mos extiang phenomencloicl revo of ther time were # not forthe saricing of rato inguin in French thought daring che ‘mi-1950s, Upon the advent of wl is ee called the inguii evel ‘on, Paths, Foal and Dera were all freed to radcaly eguenion thei onematon, Dera in etre of pects neler erie, thandone his diseration on Hust t0 review phenomenology fom the perspective of language and ear interpretation projec hat wat fove-emenge + decade ler 1 Spe ond Phonan; Focal rent ht Studies of mades in terms of nage; Barthes Dogan reading iy i the work of Livi Sear and applied linguist secures eo numerous ‘ll ste, cheving parla notoriety amongst Fench scholars for Ie rac reading of Hainan rage ‘Whar bough anguags othe fortron of thought a hispanic ime ‘were he andiarkpulbiaons of Lest Sta TrterTpgu(1958) and Joues Lacan's The Agency ofthe Later inthe Unconcous, Or Reon ‘Sice Freud (1957), Aste rel of sre of hori accidents and bedded French resistance to language nays, src ngs was forced to tre she mont ecto oes In ode o be readied othe ‘rencpeaking world inwhihthadorgatd, jest hada tae by may af many dpi: othropology,pchoaalye phloop hy and, oaener exert, plea ory to dicover whit wold em tbe mtu Tome of applications ~ ear std The Ss nga, Ferdinand de Shusues Con Geel igus baleen pulsed in France aly 21915, bat only fond» receptive lence in Raa rng the sing Snges ofthe Formal movement" and wat not an the 1940s hat Frenc shougt began to cath it fist linge ofthe sources fered by Tg fr reappaing man's reltonshp withthe world" Srusure'’s now famous inten om the arbitrariness of the sg thatthe tclation betwen signer and ged war Bed on 4 cone ‘onalierental her than anata corepondence ~ opened up evra and Laan seminglyinxhavsable posable fo applying linguistiructures to wnt were ihert considered natu phenomena In Lev Strawn hs ook the or of analysing tera foil reaion= shipeaconding oalingte mode). Kitsipracravesin parla trek Levins 2 challenging ares of eng fr Hague antvopoogy, and he deed that fly members wee diferente rom one another Inch theme way langage irene an exer bec am ing which elo he frou delnton tat nce td gramme A Petry of te Dh ft A b For Lacan, linguistic eseatch lel hi to kbs’ ow fous dine tion herween metaphor and metoayny (Be sabtuton of the pt for the whole the at fr hoce reso) which he alate, espetnly, o Fre’ charcerston ofthe dream proces condention and dle tment. This insight thew allowed Lacan to begin hi eeadng of Fred from aingoisie spective on the andertanding tht "the unsonsins structed ikea langage" Though working la very diferen areas, Laan ad Lévi-Stas ads come to very sim conclusions conertng theft of the linguistic revalstiononthestrusolthesujectinreatentoknomledge,LéiStss ‘ged hat pilosa and anthropological invesgcion move rom thee concerns with concious phenomena cote sad) of dt “uneomeiout Infonrocure"stas Lacan stresed hei not man consist ‘who thinks, as or seas, bt the gic onconcous ha determines Insevery though, action uterane This"Copemicin revelation motion bythe foegrouing of linge racrares threw down 9 det. allege othe cet ad founding roe of cnselounes, whether eg tered i terns of Cates certainty, Hsseskan phonomenolo. the ocsine of individual fies ound in Saran exit, noha ‘wast become the ‘logan ofthe dees forthe France of the 1960, es-Sess could that del: "th oa ofthe human selene ot to consitate man, bu to dso im” "The situation f Barthes, Focal and Desa a thisuncute in reach Inula history is dec A stong case could be mae tht posta ‘urls self could only have been borne crostover, nthe frm of 2 movement which wisest ps the erature tenewal f language toward the eventual disohion of Bot the notion of ujectivity and ‘howe of universal actual categorie.” ts term ofthe developmen af the ides ofthe dest of the ashor, the cs of this parca sore sieation are Beyond doubt Eater movements at the author ha taken the form ofresctions apt bograpbiealpostivam, The author ‘wa simply to he removed ot ined inode ofc it New Cris cn ‘the words onthe fag’ a Ramin Formalin on the Meatnes: of literature, bu these exlsions rene enenally prisons nd dd oot take she Form ofa prescrip o dei atement sb dour. The imeection between phenomenology and rata, however, produced an iconoclastic and fu-ranging fom ofan, Having heen schooled in phevomenolgiel method and having son to ofthe {at cence of the human subject athropelogy and pychouayss—“ “The Dahon Ren he Aor lapse wit he subject under serosa gp, Bates Fouca rd ‘Dera were no content with simply lng ee author sabjec in ‘cee formalin, A phenmenclogclesining had aught them tha the ‘abject was eo power to ophivetd a concept tobe simply krack ets ee sbjeciity was wrthing ro be aniled. Nor ete ould they te omtent ose te dent thesbject asioenethingapplving merely tothe wes of lterrystdies, The deh f the author mst eonect with {pene deth of an. At helm theeefore, beeen phenomenology dnd rectus the dicoure of the deh of te ator a we know omer tsb, Aner of theory undeoryin which langge isthe “Setroyer of allsajecr™— the ator of Berary ads, che ranscendenrd subject of pilsopies of conchuses, the bet of politcal theory. pychoonalys,atropelogy or ert, Focal ad Detrich expbonef the subject frm he soc of lngung sth sen to eaten gh acon the ed ofthe human ‘Zences a tol inte goeton the den hae man cn propel poses nye of nowledge or conscious For shoold it be thrall thought proves ces by way and hy viree of langage then the absence UF the sujet fom language tate state absence ofthe subject ot onciousnes fom knowlege, If kowledge elf o wine we ake to be Knowledge ently intradacarine, apd fp chimed, the subject sm anchorage within dco, hen ma athe subject of krowedge thoroughly diced and dodge, Cogoton apd consciousness are at Innings efector metaphors by-product ait were ofalinguistic tlre as evolved for thoound of years before any sbject comes to speak Man can nooner be contd ar the subject of his works, for tore che subject of text or of knowledge, 4 same » pos ielly terior to language. There can thas Be mo sich thing as subjectivity ‘Shibe he sober author = ata casi been theese conceived prio toa lnguage which exits a emily tanspatent vehicle or nati for hisses hides. As Focal pres ran s te abject ind objet of hs own knowledge “iin the proces of petishing 2 the tring of language continue o aioe ever eighter upon our horizon.” ‘The tea of sroshl abence tery conect withthe estemaloiet “phen Western thought which the theories ofthe 1960s believed to ‘i underway In the linguini decomposon of sbject-cetred pals ‘ophies Where philosophy andthe aman sciences had registered man i the objet athe necerary beginning sod end of Knowledge, know ge nd the sje te seen oe ite amos of a angge and 2 A rr te af the hr 6 rang which enledysubsere al atempes by the uma agent oat ny dere of try or contol ovr thes workings "That mosement i more than sample exten of development of ‘extinct oppeion tothe ator. Wis the New Cal Sn Rustam Formals prot sought o emo the author in the inter ‘ots of exsvely Ierary concerns, the tefl amongst sructores fad possucrualies to sey demarcate moves of wring, her at Formal nen on abroad fd of tertexuaty which the dsoures af leentre, hlosophy, nd scence mete on a eal ong means that he removal ofthe thor sujet no longer be rea sy 23 pint of ttradcpinary methodology. Further, as nounced by Barthes, Foie and Derr, he removal of the ator vot to be ae asastotegy,ameanstovardan en, boca esmey aim sl, Win Russian Formas and che New Cees, ant-auboralsn appeaze 2 rexesonto biographical postive In order eta coe eld of teal ody wat nectar ete the herr abet from the mast oF biographical and pychologicl specsiion win which i bal been tubrerged in dhe homespun eden of neteeth-cnty ei, ‘Consents the question ofthe author ~ along with da ofthe ext textual ferent in gener (hor, sockey, dhe world) ~ wa keined or Tracked a he preliminary ep ward evo» fra neal and lecoril approach ro the text Theealuion of the autor fotoned (gote simply ar + methodological gumbie within eaten which di not ose the quemons ofthe onginn and etrminans ofthe text. The doh ot eager of che ausor weno aie bo ater the xcompatiy of tutorial categories with mmancir aay ‘Within he dcourte ofthe dent the anthor, however, th nt eng toexclde he athor bt to recognise that theauhorhsaiaysbeen absent, that there never ould be an author in hei plc, Darts, Foucsle and Derrida hase a-ha tothe extreme of promosing author ‘exclusion fom a methodological precipon roan ontelogel statement hoot the very erence of dicoure el, The pean of wang a ‘ron deni wich the dipper ofthe author, ‘Assoon x 3fceis arate olonger witha view to cing ety on reality bat intensely, that toy Boal outdo ny Feeton ‘other tan that of the very practice ofthe syn sal, this eon: ection ocat the woe loves org he aon eoer ino is own death, ting Bein” likewise, Foucl cis tht scting 2 text a individ can doi "he Daal Ref the Ate no more and no lee than ctete a spce sto which de writing bee Contnullydtappens The ik of the writer, he contends, edad tevnohing mote an the singly of hs vence: he must ase che tole of the dead man in the game of wring’ Sach contentions mark 2 Considerable advance on oral postions which gener sought only to remove theauthoc inorder to develop formals for aren the exten a neal lane, Within nora French cheory, ower, 50 ft fiom fanconing a2 working methodlogeal Ryprbeis the abence ot ‘emise of the author sen a ndabeay the prof writing in alis sonifatoe Teving side lento if (uch diincions eily becoming Invalid) the whole of the enunciation isan empey procs. Fumetonog pefely without tre being ny eed fri ob led fvth the peony ofthe ineloctos. Linguistic. the authori ever more dan the instance wring js 3b thing other than the intance saying I: linguage knows 2 sbje pot peso and this subject empey cuss ofthe vor enonctaon which defies sufi to wake language “old together ices hat (095,10 cha" Sttment of this ast ~ chaateritlly of modern a-stholin are aoe made in 4 comsendonlly expostory or dicursvefamework ‘Wha speed cot ofered a thoghf were open to question. The render issked either cep the rath of whats elng said soles han TEevef wring, oto tr back nosnlgcllyopon a Bamaniom ne longer teen within this age of theory. And sch deed has ben the ener fer of responses oth annunciion ofthe author's dest. ‘On the one han, ator dppesranc hs been accepted by sate contin and posttest 6am arte of fh, Babes, Foueult and Devt ar invoke though ~sndedually ot conceredly hey le indeed ‘proved thatthe author absent Geom and evant tothe eat Ava eof French eheory. cate “The notion ofthe NaF Spinnin Anglo-American thought become sour. eso something elle the self dha peak, but language, the wnconscons, the Cental ofthe text” Reco othe aoe Jeeed paleo, Che sanetary af a exblshinent hankering tack ancy innocence fof ecm before contemporary thors uncovered the absence of Truman and expressive quale nthe tery text_On de other Hand. Such defences tr have been made ofthe authoe commonly res upon 3 Fundamentally unrgued honunitopposton othe rection of Keratare tom imperiona ly of fain. ln occ oi, sometines A rk ofte Dth fte At 7 commonsenal tones, the ides ofthe dit of the autor dined at having no serous aim ypon our anton, Keng bes cout for et another cone ofa continent want gim which delights in yin. tory pardon” ‘Nanay, there ate 2 numberof mote tmp responses to bance hose exten, but even within che mow composed poo snd at-uthoi Adacoures thee fle oro conpromine cogent debate, ter side showing ioe willing to argue and josie presapostion. The problem ofthe achor wd soil ats source of deep conor, but dos ot sede the ste of common dcoson, and the chimeric dy of tent which contested ofthe death af the aon ot gory amlyed or nterroptd ther by sti or detractors, “The est of which tha the thor question has hee gly et nthe erpeson ofthis doe Tm recent me, restunce to French theory has taken on 2 mote sophistiatd sn les human charcer with the emergence ofthe New Pragmass, Even here, however the broader iaser raed by authorship lave not bee debated and the prolem of atenton as ben parse the exlsion of ther authori etgores” Carty its om csly to gage the force for lack of) with which the pragma wl eturn (co) he author, bucin sofas they have gency presented hemlet pin theory cei work hs tended comsalie abe than loosen tbe Asdlockberees French theory and Anglo-American ntam,™ That ‘when hardline pragmaits dere thatthe eheorevealenerpie shout Simply come oa clon they ae yng moce of theoey than theory fen ‘sido wadion hae igo, mytiicstory, sod chat the whole re oF exw spcuatio tha enced shouldbe ohh ered (or re itl) inthe incest of reshaping erry sade. Theater vo pt a dt theory than reproduces the sume ypettous and aire toe tale ths sought pt amend tthe author. No common dacs sites ‘chnowledged, ven provision. te articulation of theory ae dismied ‘ichou o mach a bring touched upon and ance mote the text the death ofthe author remain dosed to ivesigion, revision o ri ‘The sm ofthis parece project a would argue of kerry dies In genes note replace the death ofthe author by any“ or death of theory indeed any sch thing pol), for precy the ese of dea, ends ‘loses ‘epstemolgiel beak’ "Sol repo, that lave so ofen bred the way eo meaning abl comsracve debate In recent ctl sory. What eoponed here, by conte, owe reuling of an-athorial dscouss, a nie into how authori absenceoO ‘Te Deh and Ren he Ar wn maar ib at oer eh han seen ti obs ery Shires The Birth of the Reader Wie bs aon wl Movements without manfecton arte, nin The Death the Auto’ Roland Bares povided trary theory wih tlre, most uncon sing statrnent of ttene, Whiten n 1967 and not asivoien sapped fm mind ofthe tudent uprising ~ "The Death of the Author ws fst bled in France in 1968 The year ofl éétments however wast Sui the dramatic sd sevoltionary nature of Barthes esay alin Alsi ike Hegls Phoomeny of Mind, whic wax compored hin Cectot of pune from the Bate of fn, “The Death ofthe Aor hat ound» pre seting ap the background of May time atin tele Jeti revo, Tor at lest ive yeat beforeand, Bates bad expend rong reser oo about he nation of authorship and in particular the pices of seu crician that, etc excel Bed upon the the aor or fovea Working under sera pinata, behad recommended in ‘On Raine (196) sha etic move Beyond the reson of man-ande the work sales ofc on the nate ofthe text in aod free. Asa ‘eoindertothe hse response het met with ont Pench ahul, Barthes tetetted his deste for 2 more syematc speach o ere Goin and Th (1968), deca that cence af core ould oly be eased f ear anal tok langage rites than sure athe staring pont of x engiry As sec, Barthes oppostion ro th suthor rersined hin an inddcdonie stnerary: the sathor-queion pac ‘chin paretere 10 tt fate the emergence ofan experimental Inethodology. With The Death ofthe Author however, elution