Roland Barthes: The Post-Structuralist Perspective

Roland Barthes as Post-Structuralist From the beginning, Roland Barthes has been critical of the view that bourgeois ideology holds, which asserts that language is natural and transparent. In his structuralist phase, he emphasizes this point. However, his transition from a structuralist theorist to a poststructuralist takes place with his belief that structuralism is not the endpoint but can be further explored, leading to contradictory positions. The Death of the Author Similar to the famous statement attributed to Nietzsche, "God is Dead," Barthes introduces his concept of "The Death of the Author" in his renowned essay. This marks the beginning of his poststructuralist phase. Challenging the Role of the Author Barthes contests the notion that the author is the sole origin and authority of the text after it has been written. He asserts that the text is independent and possesses autonomy. This idea may seem aligned with the stance maintained by New Critics, who emphasi…