This article seemed interesting to me in a few ways. I do not agree with the nonsense in this article, however, I do see some of Barthes main points he makes in the essay. The essay argues against incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author in an interpretation of text, and says that writing and creator are unrelated completely. After going through with this English class, that is how I used tot hink about books and things of that nature, but this semester I really learned how many more deeper meanings the authors make for the reader's to make of the impression of the story.
In this essay, he criticizes the method of reading and criticism that relies on aspects of the author's background, meaning his or her political views, historical context, religion, ethnicity, psychology, or anything else that has to do with how he or she has previously been raised. This he uses as an excuse to take away meaning from the author's work. In this type of criticism, he bags on the author for having a "bias" on what he or she is writing. Barthes thinks this method of reading is a good one, but it is not...if you are not an creative thinker especially.
He also talks about putting a title on the work, which he says limits the text. Which, he has a point here, but not really. Its like the expression, you cannot judge a book by its cover, meaning if you look at the title and its something that won't interest you based on the title...you would never know until you read the whole story. This is a good article and I highly recommend reading it to all writers. It will broaden your perspective.