Reader Response Theory- Barthes "Death of the Author"

Originally, I had been a huge believer in the influence of an author on a text, but after reading Barthes’s “Death of the Author,” I admittedly began to question some of my previous conceptions. I still believe in some cases, the Author exists more strongly in the text than in other pieces (one example being Tennessee William, who reflects much of his personal life and experience in his work) however, it can limit depth of a work to only analyze the author of the text. It prevents readers from considering other alternatives and interpretations. Instead, combining reader response in conjunction with technical elements employed by the author may allow for a deeper and more meaningful or applicable analysis. This doesn’t mean the author needs to be completely dead to the work, but they become more of an echo than anything.

Something that assisted in digesting this work was looking at literary criticism in a way similar the way in which movies are often viewed by audiences. No one considers the value of the work based on the life experience of the author unless it is extremely relevant to the work. Movies based on true stories retain a far louder echo of the author, but as most movies aren’t based on real situations, we must find other ways to critique the material. We instead begin to look at the visual effects, camera angles, believability of the characters, and how we personally respond to the work because of our understanding of reality. This allows for a greater conversation and more varied interpretations of a work, giving it added depth and appeal to different backgrounds. I believe this was what Barthes believes should be the case for literature as well.