ENGL 497Senior Seminar
Prof. G. Steinberg
What is the difference between a text and a work, according to Barthes? Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On one side, put all the characteristics of a work. On the other, put all the characteristics of a text.
How does a text and work differ in their signification (their use of Saussure's signs)? How do they differ in terms of how we interpret them? How do they differ in terms of their relationship to their author? How do they differ in terms of their relationship to their reader? Can you give an example of a work and another of a text? Can a work be a text? Can the same piece of writing be both a work and a text?
Which does Barthes seem to prefer -- works or texts?
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