Back to Barthes and Foucault

Let's cast our mind back for a moment to the discussion of Barthes and Foucault.

The two essays of Barthes and Foucault that I have analysed in this tour have been the starting point for any discussion on the role of the author in modern literary theory. Barthes and Foucault both point out the problematic role the author has played in literary criticism and Foucault tries to offer the critic new analytical tools, a new way of reading, to escape the traditional terminology of the author. However, despite the facility of theoretical terminology to completely disavow the biographical author, in practice, this mode of critical reading remains problematic.

The Author has proven to be more resilient than both these critics would allow.