In this essential application of structural linguistics to the problems of literary criticism, Roland Barthes—a disciple of Saussure and one of the cardinal spokesmen of semiology—opposes both the goals and methods of classic rhetoric. He takes issue with what be sees as an excessive categorical structuring that divorces form from meaning as it approaches an overrefined univocal explication. Using Balzac's novella Sarrassine as the paradigmatic discourse, he proposes instead to "sketch the stereographic space of writing," other times described as "an iridescent exchange" or a "glistening texture of ephemeral voices." A step-by-step commentary on arbitrarily chosen lexias or short texts—a phrase, a few sentences, or as much as a paragraph rather than the traditional large masses of text—develops the metaphorical construct of the discourse itself as "the only positive hero of the story." AH textual signifiers are grouped under five major codes—Seme, Symbol, Hermeneutic enigma, proairetic Action, and cultural Reference—which interweave and intersect to produce a connotative universe. Barthes' theory of the "readerly" or self-creating, polyphonic text develops in mediations between the analyses of lexical fragments. Both the coded reading and the commentaries are as heavy as the Balzacian source itself. Barthes has brought new life to a foundering literary aesthetics with this synthesis of science and imaginative humanism, for those familiar with the terminology.
Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1974
ISBN: 0374521670
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1974
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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