Death of the Author

An author is traditionally typical figure who creates a work of literature or other types of

writing by his/her own thoughts even until now ; however, Roland Barthes emphasizes that an

author has no longer his/her authority over writing he/she produces in his essay, "The

Death of the Author " translated in English in 1967. Roland Barthes's little essay is for me a

very essential message in a suggestive way, but not in an absolute way. That is because books

are meant to be read so that to me readers interpret them are more important and essential than

the ways authors write them.

For Barthes, the image of our traditional literature is "tyrannically centered on

the author", and he/she is a typical figure of the intellect creator of a work of literature or other

piece of writing by the power of his or her original and intentional imagination. Also, Barthes

explains that the author is dead at the moment of writing, and the act of writing for Barthes

seems to be only an event and the author is such the end of event. That means for Barthes that

the act of writing becomes the center, but no longer attached from the being of the author.