The Death of The Author
Roland Barthes
B. Roland Barthes
C. Jacques Derrida
D. Jean-Paul Sartre
Answer: B. Roland Barthes
2. What
example from Balzac is used to illustrate a point about authorship?
A. A description of nature
B. A philosophical debate
C. A castrato disguised as a woman
D. A murder mystery
Answer: C. A castrato disguised as a woman
3. What
question does Barthes pose about Balzac’s text?
A. Is it a historical novel?
B. Who is speaking in the sentence?
C. What is the moral of the story?
D. Who is the real protagonist?
Answer: B. Who is speaking in the sentence?
4.
According to Barthes, what makes it impossible to identify who is speaking in a
literary text?
A. The lack of punctuation
B. The confusion of characters
C. The nature of writing as a composite voice
D. The use of archaic language
Answer: C. The nature of writing as a composite voice
5. What
does Barthes say about literature and identity?
A. Literature reinforces identity
B. Literature clarifies personal identity
C. Literature is where all identity is lost
D. Literature mirrors societal roles
Answer: C. Literature is where all identity is lost
6. What
is literature described as in relation to the voice?
A. A single clear voice
B. A rational argument
C. A composite and oblique voice
D. A scientific expression
Answer: C. A composite and oblique voice
7. What
transformation does writing undergo, according to Barthes?
A. It becomes obsolete
B. It becomes propaganda
C. The author dies and writing begins
D. It becomes autobiography
Answer: C. The author dies and writing begins
8. What
role did the "shaman or speaker" play in primitive societies?
A. They wrote their own biographies
B. They were considered literary geniuses
C. They narrated stories without personal attribution
D. They documented history objectively
Answer: C. They narrated stories without personal attribution
9. When
did the concept of the author as an individual gain importance?
A. Ancient Greece
B. Roman Empire
C. End of the Middle Ages
D. Enlightenment era
Answer: C. End of the Middle Ages
10. What
philosophical traditions contributed to the rise of the author figure?
A. German idealism and Indian mysticism
B. English empiricism and French rationalism
C. Marxism and existentialism
D. Structuralism and deconstruction
Answer: B. English empiricism and French rationalism
11. What
is the "prestige of the individual" linked to?
A. Ancient storytelling
B. Capitalism and modernity
C. Romantic poetry
D. Classical education
Answer: B. Capitalism and modernity
12. How
does Barthes describe literary criticism’s focus on authors?
A. Objective and neutral
B. Focused on narrative structure
C. Centered on the writer's biography
D. Ignoring the author's background
Answer: C. Centered on the writer's biography
13. What
does Barthes criticize in literary history and criticism?
A. Use of symbolism
B. Lack of diversity
C. Overemphasis on the author's life
D. Misuse of grammar
Answer: C. Overemphasis on the author's life
14. Which
of the following writers attempted to "topple" the empire of the
Author?
A. Dickens
B. Hemingway
C. Mallarmé
D. George Eliot
Answer: C. Mallarmé
15.
According to Barthes, what does Mallarmé replace the author with?
A. The character
B. Language
C. Emotion
D. Experience
Answer: B. Language
16. What
does writing become for Mallarmé?
A. A political tool
B. A search for truth
C. An act of the self
D. An impersonal performance
Answer: D. An impersonal performance
17. What
aspect of literature does Valéry emphasize?
A. Authorial genius
B. Emotional depth
C. Linguistic nature
D. Historical accuracy
Answer: C. Linguistic nature
18. How
does Valéry treat the notion of authorial psychology?
A. He promotes it
B. He expands on it
C. He mocks it
D. He ignores it
Answer: C. He mocks it
19. Who
among the following does Barthes credit with giving modern writing its
"epic"?
A. Flaubert
B. Proust
C. Zola
D. Baudelaire
Answer: B. Proust
20. What
role does the narrator play in Proust’s work, according to Barthes?
A. The person who observes
B. The person who writes
C. The person who will write
D. The person who critiques
Answer: C. The person who will write
21. What
does Barthes claim about the traditional explanation of literary works?
A. It is rooted in genre
B. It is based on the author’s identity
C. It is grounded in mythology
D. It is purely fictional
Answer: B. It is based on the author’s identity
22. What
does Barthes believe about the relation between author and text?
A. It is direct and intentional
B. It is mythologized
C. It is irrelevant
D. It is socially necessary
Answer: B. It is mythologized
23. What
phrase does Barthes use to describe the beginning of writing?
A. "The birth of meaning"
B. "The death of the author"
C. "The rebirth of truth"
D. "The silence of the speaker"
Answer: B. "The death of the author"
24. What
cultural force sustains the image of the author today, according to Barthes?
A. Communism
B. Psychoanalysis
C. Capitalist ideology
D. Religious dogma
Answer: C. Capitalist ideology
25. How
does Barthes describe the performance of the speaker in primitive societies?
A. As original
B. As divine
C. As code mastery
D. As poetic truth
Answer: C. As code mastery
26. What
genre is Barthes criticizing when he refers to "realistic novelists"?
A. Science fiction
B. Classical drama
C. 19th-century realism
D. Gothic horror
Answer: C. 19th-century realism
27. What
is restored by suppressing the author, according to Barthes?
A. Artistic originality
B. The reader's role
C. Structural coherence
D. Historical truth
Answer: B. The reader's role
28. What
does Barthes suggest about Charlus and Montesquiou in Proust’s work?
A. Charlus imitates Montesquiou
B. Proust denies their connection
C. Montesquiou imitates Charlus
D. They are identical
Answer: C. Montesquiou imitates Charlus
29. Which
philosophical movement is Barthes responding to in this text?
A. Modernism
B. Structuralism
C. Existentialism
D. Romanticism
Answer: B. Structuralism
30. What
does Barthes imply about personal journals of writers?
A. They are useful research tools
B. They mislead readers
C. They unify person and work artificially
D. They are part of creative fiction
Answer: C. They unify person and work artificially
31. The
phrase "trap where all identity is lost" refers to:
A. Personal failure
B. Literary censorship
C. The nature of literature
D. The decline of storytelling
Answer: C. The nature of literature
32. What
does the term "symbolic exercise" mean in Barthes’ context?
A. A religious act
B. A literal expression
C. Writing for its own sake
D. A psychological analysis
Answer: C. Writing for its own sake
33. What
does Barthes view as superstition?
A. The idea of fiction
B. The reliance on the author’s psychology
C. The analysis of narrative structure
D. The concept of inspiration
Answer: B. The reliance on the author’s psychology
34. What
is said to begin when the author enters their own death?
A. Silence
B. Reality
C. Writing
D. Reading
Answer: C. Writing
35.
According to Barthes, what replaces the author in the literary process?
A. Style
B. History
C. Language
D. Plot
Answer: C. Language
36. What
is the tone of Barthes’ argument?
A. Apologetic
B. Romantic
C. Analytical
D. Narrative
Answer: C. Analytical
37. Which
writer's work is used as a modern model for depersonalized writing?
A. Rimbaud
B. Proust
C. Joyce
D. Sartre
Answer: B. Proust
38.
Barthes' argument can best be described as a critique of:
A. Modernist poetry
B. Authorial authority
C. Narrative ethics
D. Genre classification
Answer: B. Authorial authority
39. How
is literature viewed in Barthes' post-authorial vision?
A. As a product of genius
B. As historical documentation
C. As a field of multiple voices
D. As social propaganda
Answer: C. As a field of multiple voices
40. Who
benefits from the "death of the author"?
A. The critic
B. The publisher
C. The reader
D. The biographer
Answer: C. The reader
2nd Series
1.
According to Barthes, what was the surrealist approach to writing?
A. Logical argumentation
B. Careful planning
C. Automatic and unconscious writing
D. Strict adherence to tradition
Answer: C. Automatic and unconscious writing
2. What
does Barthes suggest about surrealism’s attempt to subvert codes?
A. It was highly successful
B. It created a new language
C. It was illusory because codes can’t be destroyed
D. It fully rejected all cultural traditions
Answer: C. It was illusory because codes can’t be destroyed
3. What
concept does surrealism help to secularize, according to Barthes?
A. Religion
B. Society
C. The image of the Author
D. Politics
Answer: C. The image of the Author
4. What
literary technique involves writing as quickly as possible without mental
filtering?
A. Symbolism
B. Allegory
C. Automatic writing
D. Stream of consciousness
Answer: C. Automatic writing
5. What
does Barthes say linguistics contributes to the idea of the author's
disappearance?
A. An emotional framework
B. A rational definition of writing
C. A precious analytic instrument
D. A new poetic tradition
Answer: C. A precious analytic instrument
6.
Linguistically, the author is equated to:
A. A creator of truth
B. A historical figure
C. Just the man who writes
D. The soul of the work
Answer: C. Just the man who writes
7. What
does Barthes say about the word "I"?
A. It always refers to the author
B. It transcends writing
C. It signifies only the act of utterance
D. It reveals inner truth
Answer: C. It signifies only the act of utterance
8. The
absence of the author transforms:
A. Language into mythology
B. The modern text
C. Reader response
D. Historical narrative
Answer: B. The modern text
9.
Barthes refers to the author diminishing like:
A. A ghost in the machine
B. A myth in modernity
C. A tiny figure on a stage
D. A candle in the wind
Answer: C. A tiny figure on a stage
10. What
notion of time is associated with traditional authorship?
A. Simultaneity
B. Eternity
C. Presentness
D. Antecedence
Answer: D. Antecedence
11. What
analogy does Barthes use for the author’s relation to the book?
A. Teacher and student
B. Painter and canvas
C. Father and child
D. Singer and song
Answer: C. Father and child
12. What
is the relation between modern writers and their texts?
A. Writers transcend their texts
B. Writers pre-exist their texts
C. Writers are born with their texts
D. Writers interpret existing texts
Answer: C. Writers are born with their texts
13.
Barthes uses the term "scriptor" to describe:
A. An editor
B. A biographer
C. A modern writer
D. A historian
Answer: C. A modern writer
14.
Writing is no longer an act of representation but a:
A. Technical recording
B. Performative act
C. Reflective commentary
D. Historical statement
Answer: B. Performative act
15. What
school of thought is referenced with "performative"?
A. Continental philosophy
B. American pragmatism
C. The Oxford school
D. Structuralism
Answer: C. The Oxford school
16. What
does performative utterance lack, according to Barthes?
A. Authority
B. Emotional resonance
C. Content beyond the act
D. Syntactic clarity
Answer: C. Content beyond the act
17. The
phrase "I Sing" is compared to:
A. An author’s confession
B. A performative act
C. A romantic illusion
D. A religious vow
Answer: B. A performative act
18. What
notion does the modern writer reject, according to Barthes?
A. Historical context
B. Expressive authorship
C. Textual multiplicity
D. Linguistic conventions
Answer: B. Expressive authorship
19. The
writer’s hand is described as:
A. Guided by divine voice
B. An instrument of clarity
C. Detached from voice
D. Full of personal style
Answer: C. Detached from voice
20. What
origin does Barthes claim for writing?
A. The soul
B. The imagination
C. Language itself
D. The nation
Answer: C. Language itself
21.
Barthes compares a text to:
A. A chronological history
B. A linear discourse
C. A multidimensional space
D. A sacred object
Answer: C. A multidimensional space
22. The
“text” is described as:
A. A pure original creation
B. A direct message
C. A tissue of citations
D. A symbol of unity
Answer: C. A tissue of citations
23. The
text contains various kinds of writing, none of which are:
A. Readable
B. Original
C. Important
D. Clear
Answer: B. Original
24. What
do Bouvard and Pécuchet represent in the essay?
A. Literary revolutionaries
B. Eternal copyists
C. Surrealist heroes
D. Political critics
Answer: B. Eternal copyists
25. What
is the truth of writing, according to Barthes?
A. Creative novelty
B. Authorial sincerity
C. Cultural absurdity
D. Imitation
Answer: D. Imitation
26. What
power does the writer retain?
A. To invent new codes
B. To create deep meaning
C. To combine different writings
D. To explain reality
Answer: C. To combine different writings
27.
Barthes claims the writer should know that the "internal thing" is:
A. Timeless emotion
B. A natural essence
C. A readymade dictionary
D. A sacred feeling
Answer: C. A readymade dictionary
28. The
dictionary described by Barthes is:
A. Invented through inspiration
B. Constantly being redefined
C. Based on ancient Greek
D. Rejected by modern writers
Answer: B. Constantly being redefined
29. What
is the fate of a word's meaning in Barthes' view?
A. Fixed forever
B. Defined by other words infinitely
C. Determined by the author
D. Understood intuitively
Answer: B. Defined by other words infinitely
30. Who
is described as creating a Greek dictionary for modern ideas?
A. Barthes
B. Mallarmé
C. Baudelaire
D. De Quincey
Answer: D. De Quincey
31.
Barthes quotes Baudelaire's description of De Quincey to show:
A. The complexity of translation
B. The superiority of French literature
C. The decline of modern writers
D. The absurdity of surrealism
Answer: A. The complexity of translation
32. The
dictionary created by De Quincey is described as:
A. Vulgar
B. Nonexistent
C. Standing and complex
D. Fictional
Answer: C. Standing and complex
33.
Barthes’ ultimate claim about the Author is that:
A. He creates meaning
B. He is central to interpretation
C. He is dead
D. He is reborn in modernism
Answer: C. He is dead
34. The
"Author-God" concept is compared to:
A. Religious dogma
B. Poetic license
C. A single theological meaning
D. Political propaganda
Answer: C. A single theological meaning
35. The
text is not about releasing a message but:
A. Revealing truth
B. Multiplying meanings
C. Conveying morals
D. Exposing the self
Answer: B. Multiplying meanings
36.
Barthes’ view on expression is that it is:
A. The purpose of art
B. Suspicious and impossible
C. Rooted in psychology
D. Celebrated by surrealists
Answer: B. Suspicious and impossible
37. A
text, in Barthes' theory, is always:
A. Chronological
B. Monologic
C. Polyphonic
D. Transcendent
Answer: C. Polyphonic
38. The
author’s identity is viewed as:
A. Essential
B. Fabricated
C. Biographical fact
D. Creative anchor
Answer: B. Fabricated
39.
Language "works" because:
A. It is based on facts
B. It requires an author
C. It functions without a person
D. It reflects social identity
Answer: C. It functions without a person
40. For
Barthes, the "subject" in language is:
A. A creative thinker
B. An autonomous soul
C. Void outside of utterance
D. A rational speaker
Answer: C. Void outside of utterance
41. The
writer today does not express but rather:
A. Invents language
B. Imitates language
C. Questions authorship
D. Performs language
Answer: D. Performs language
42.
Barthes claims that elaborating form comes from:
A. A love for language
B. Artistic tradition
C. A gap between hand and thought
D. Historical constraints
Answer: C. A gap between hand and thought
43. The
idea that a writer is “borne by a pure gesture” means:
A. He is inspired by God
B. He merely copies past writers
C. He acts without expression
D. He writes without structure
Answer: C. He acts without expression
44. For
Barthes, language is:
A. Secondary to the author
B. A tool of oppression
C. A questioning of origin
D. The same as thought
Answer: C. A questioning of origin
45. The
absence of the author brings about:
A. Reader confusion
B. New meaning systems
C. Textual ambiguity
D. Literary freedom
Answer: D. Literary freedom
46. The
modern text is written so that the Author:
A. Is central to its message
B. Returns in the conclusion
C. Absents himself at every level
D. Controls its structure
Answer: C. Absents himself at every level
47.
Barthes’ idea can be seen as a response to:
A. Marxist theory
B. Romantic individualism
C. Empirical science
D. Realist fiction
Answer: B. Romantic individualism
48. The
modern writer is not someone who:
A. Thinks while writing
B. Expresses feelings
C. Observes reality
D. Represents the self
Answer: D. Represents the self
49.
Language does not require:
A. A structure
B. A message
C. Interlocutors
D. Expression
Answer: C. Interlocutors
50. The
“internal thing” the writer tries to express is:
A. An illusion
B. Divine inspiration
C. A universal truth
D. A psychological necessity
Answer: A. An illusion
3rd Series
1. According to Barthes, who or what truly "speaks" in writing?
A. The author
B. The character
C. Language
D. The critic
Answer: C. Language
2. In "Sarrasine", the uncertainty of who speaks the description
of Woman demonstrates:
A. The superiority of male
authorship
B. The ambiguity of narrative voice
C. Balzac's psychological depth
D. The importance of plot over style
Answer: B. The ambiguity of narrative voice
3. What does Barthes argue literature is?
A. A linear story
B. A moral expression
C. The invention of a voice with no origin
D. A product of personal emotion
Answer: C. The invention of a voice with no origin
4. What is lost when an action is recounted rather than acted?
A. Meaning
B. Time
C. Voice origin
D. Structure
Answer: C. Voice origin
5. What societal developments contributed to the rise of the
"Author" figure?
A. Medieval mysticism
B. Renaissance artistry
C. Reformation, rationalism, empiricism
D. Industrial revolution
Answer: C. Reformation, rationalism, empiricism
6. According to Barthes, how is literature viewed in contemporary culture?
A. As a collective voice
B. As centered on the author's person
C. As a meaningless artifact
D. As an act of translation
Answer: B. As centered on the author's person
7. What does Barthes suggest about critics who explain a work through the
author’s life?
A. They honor the text
B. They misread the purpose of writing
C. They uncover hidden meanings
D. They follow surrealist traditions
Answer: B. They misread the purpose of writing
8. Which poet did Barthes credit as first attempting to topple the Author?
A. Baudelaire
B. Proust
C. Mallarmé
D. Valéry
Answer: C. Mallarmé
9. What is the "scriptor" in Barthes’ essay?
A. A mere copyist
B. A figure born with the text
C. An ancient storyteller
D. A tragic hero
Answer: B. A figure born with the text
10. Barthes describes the modern writer’s act as:
A. Reflective and emotional
B. A performative gesture
C. Guided by divine inspiration
D. Biographical expression
Answer: B. A performative gesture
11. What literary movement did not assign sovereignty to language,
according to Barthes?
A. Structuralism
B. Surrealism
C. Romanticism
D. Symbolism
Answer: B. Surrealism
12. Surrealism secularized the image of the author through:
A. Classical allusions
B. Logical reasoning
C. Automatic writing and subversion
D. Religious symbolism
Answer: C. Automatic writing and subversion
13. Linguistics reveals that utterance:
A. Reflects deep personality
B. Requires a speaker’s history
C. Is void and impersonal
D. Depends on authorial genius
Answer: C. Is void and impersonal
14. Barthes compares the absence of the Author to:
A. Historical revision
B. Literary innovation
C. Brechtian alienation
D. Classical drama
Answer: C. Brechtian alienation
15. The modern text is characterized by:
A. Autobiographical detail
B. The author’s spiritual journey
C. The absence of the Author
D. Realistic objectivity
Answer: C. The absence of the Author
16. The classical author is metaphorically likened to:
A. A mythological hero
B. A father to his book
C. A priest of language
D. A solitary wanderer
Answer: B. A father to his book
17. For the scriptor, time of writing is:
A. A progression of thoughts
B. Eternally in the present
C. A reflection on the past
D. A projection into the future
Answer: B. Eternally in the present
18. Writing, for Barthes, is an act of:
A. Faith
B. Translation
C. Expression
D. Inscription
Answer: D. Inscription
19. The text is not a theological message but a:
A. Story
B. Citation
C. Tissue of citations
D. Literary sermon
Answer: C. Tissue of citations
20. Barthes compares the writer to:
A. A prophet
B. An artist
C. A tragic hero
D. Bouvard and Pécuchet
Answer: D. Bouvard and Pécuchet
21. What does the writer draw from to write?
A. Personal experiences
B. Cultural memory
C. An enormous dictionary
D. Divine inspiration
Answer: C. An enormous dictionary
22. Barthes believes meaning in writing:
A. Is always intended by the
author
B. Lies dormant until discovered
C. Is constructed and evaporated
D. Reflects universal truths
Answer: C. Is constructed and evaporated
23. To impose an author on a text is to:
A. Enlighten readers
B. Enrich the narrative
C. Close the writing
D. Create depth
Answer: C. Close the writing
24. Criticism seeks to:
A. Support the reader
B. Create new texts
C. Explain the text via the Author
D. Analyze grammar only
Answer: C. Explain the text via the Author
25. Structural reading means:
A. Interpreting symbols
B. Threading the text’s recurrences
C. Seeking divine meaning
D. Understanding the author’s intent
Answer: B. Threading the text’s recurrences
26. Barthes views the new writing as:
A. Theological
B. Predictable
C. Counter-theological
D. Autobiographical
Answer: C. Counter-theological
27. Refusing to stop meaning is equivalent to:
A. Losing coherence
B. Denying religion
C. Refusing God and his hypostases
D. Embracing nihilism
Answer: C. Refusing God and his hypostases
28. Greek tragedy demonstrates:
A. The depth of gods
B. The richness of fate
C. Constitutive ambiguity in language
D. The psychological complexity of heroes
Answer: C. Constitutive ambiguity in language
29. In tragedy, who understands the double meanings?
A. The characters
B. The gods
C. The author
D. The reader
Answer: D. The reader
30. According to Barthes, the unity of a text lies in:
A. The author
B. The critic
C. Its origin
D. Its destination
Answer: D. Its destination
31. According to Barthes, the reader is:
A. A historical person with
biography
B. A passive recipient of meaning
C. A man without history or psychology
D. A moral judge of literature
Answer: C. A man without history or psychology
32. Classical criticism focuses primarily on:
A. The reader
B. The language of the text
C. The man who writes
D. The social context only
Answer: C. The man who writes
33. Barthes argues the reader’s rights have:
A. Always been championed by
critics
B. Been overlooked by classical criticism
C. No relevance in structural analysis
D. Always depended on religious structures
Answer: B. Been overlooked by classical criticism
34. The act of writing is no longer about:
A. Language
B. Expression
C. Structure
D. Interpretation
Answer: B. Expression
35. Barthes uses the metaphor of a "field without origin" to
describe:
A. Traditional storytelling
B. Modern textuality
C. Religious symbolism
D. Classicism
Answer: B. Modern textuality
36. The modern writer’s hand is characterized by:
A. Expressing the self
B. Recording external truths
C. Inscribing without origin
D. Dictating divine messages
Answer: C. Inscribing without origin
37. Barthes calls the reader:
A. A future writer
B. The new author
C. The locus where writing happens
D. A passive recipient
Answer: C. The locus where writing happens
38. A text is composed of:
A. A single, unified authorial
voice
B. Layered meanings created by the author
C. Multiple writings from several cultures
D. Objective facts from history
Answer: C. Multiple writings from several cultures
39. The idea that the author "pre-exists" the book is:
A. Supported by linguistics
B. A myth that Barthes challenges
C. A modernist innovation
D. Useful for structuralist reading
Answer: B. A myth that Barthes challenges
40. What does the term “performative” refer to in Barthes' context?
A. Theater and drama
B. An action accomplished by utterance
C. A recorded monologue
D. The stage presence of the author
Answer: B. An action accomplished by utterance
41. "To refuse to arrest meaning is to refuse":
A. Language
B. Literature
C. God and authority
D. Freedom
Answer: C. God and authority
42. Barthes critiques even the “new criticism” for:
A. Being too abstract
B. Being overly psychological
C. Still revolving around the Author
D. Lacking historical context
Answer: C. Still revolving around the Author
43. The death of the Author leads to the birth of:
A. The narrative
B. The reader
C. History
D. The critic
Answer: B. The reader
44. What makes interpretation “useless,” according to Barthes?
A. Texts are fully rational
B. Language is always coherent
C. The absence of the Author
D. Historical facts override texts
Answer: C. The absence of the Author
45. What does writing “ceaselessly posit” according to Barthes?
A. Authorial control
B. Hidden meanings
C. Meaning, only to evaporate it
D. Philosophical truth
Answer: C. Meaning, only to evaporate it
46. Barthes implies the goal of new writing is to:
A. Confuse the reader
B. Escape from structure
C. Liberate the reader and text
D. Reinforce literary tradition
Answer: C. Liberate the reader and text
47. How does Barthes describe the reader’s role in tragedy?
A. As a passive listener
B. As the creator of meaning
C. As someone who understands all ambiguities
D. As a tragic figure himself
Answer: C. As someone who understands all ambiguities
48. What does it mean to “thread” a structure, according to Barthes?
A. Interpret its moral
implications
B. Follow its recurrences and stages
C. Close it with final meaning
D. Reject all structure
Answer: B. Follow its recurrences and stages
49. To decipher a text implies:
A. Multiplicity of meaning
B. Authorial absence
C. Final and closed interpretation
D. Engagement with the reader
Answer: C. Final and closed interpretation
50. What must be "ransomed" for the birth of the reader?
A. The truth of language
B. The past of the text
C. The death of the Author
D. Classical education
Answer: C. The death of the Author
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