Death of the Author by Roland

MCQS Practice Set

Conceptual and Theoretical Understanding

1. What is the central argument of The Death of the Author?

A. Authors should be more autobiographical
B. The author’s intention defines the meaning
C. The author's identity should not influence interpretation
D. Literary texts should be censored
Answer: C
2. When was The Death of the Author published?
A. 1957
B. 1967
C. 1972
D. 1980
Answer: B
3. Barthes’ theory belongs to which school of criticism?
A. Marxist
B. Formalist
C. Structuralist/Poststructuralist
D. Psychoanalytic
Answer: C
4. Barthes criticizes which approach to literature?
A. Structuralist reading
B. Reader-response theory
C. Biographical criticism
D. Close reading
Answer: C
5. According to Barthes, who should be the focus in literary analysis?
A. The historical context
B. The author
C. The text
D. The publisher
Answer: C
6. Barthes claims writing is the destruction of every:
A. Culture
B. Narrative
C. Voice
D. Identity
Answer: Voice
7. The idea of the “Author-God” suggests:
A. The writer is a divine being
B. The author’s intent is absolute
C. Authors are worshipped in society
D. The state funds all authors
Answer: B
8. “The birth of the reader must be at the cost of…”
A. Meaning
B. Logic
C. The author
D. The publisher
Answer: C
9. Which of the following terms best reflects Barthes’ view of text?
A. Fixed
B. Plural
C. Autobiographical
D. Obsolete
Answer: B
10. Barthes believes meaning in literature is:
A. Intentional
B. Biographical
C. Open and unstable
D. Political
Answer: C

Application and Examples

11. Who is the reader, according to Barthes?

A. A passive observer
B. An interpreter and creator of meaning
C. A biographer
D. A cultural critic
Answer: B
12. What kind of authority does Barthes deny the author?
A. Political
B. Moral
C. Interpretive
D. Legal
Answer: C
13. Barthes uses which metaphor for the author’s death?
A. Execution
B. Burial
C. Silence
D. Vanishing
Answer: A
14. What does Barthes propose to replace the author?
A. The critic
B. The text itself
C. The reader
D. History
Answer: C
15. The author, for Barthes, is a modern figure invented by:
A. The Renaissance
B. Structuralism
C. Capitalism
D. Criticism
Answer: D

Language, Structure, and Influence

16. According to Barthes, text is a tissue of:

A. Ideas
B. Lies
C. Quotes
D. Symbols
Answer: C
17. Barthes draws influence from which philosopher?
A. Kant
B. Foucault
C. Derrida
D. Nietzsche
Answer: D
18. What literary practice does Barthes reject?
A. Parody
B. Interpretation
C. Explication through biography
D. Translation
Answer: C
19. Which term would best describe Barthes' view of meaning?
A. Determined
B. Constructed
C. Predestined
D. Eternal
Answer: B
20. Barthes sees language as a system of:
A. Stability
B. Signs without origin
C. Historical evolution
D. Divine inspiration
Answer: B

Comparative Criticism

21. Who later echoed Barthes’ argument with the concept of “author-function”?
A. Jacques Derrida
B. Michel Foucault
C. Stanley Fish
D. Julia Kristeva
Answer: B
22. How does Barthes view the relationship between text and meaning?
A. Stable and referential
B. Objective
C. Intertextual and shifting
D. Rigid and formal
Answer: C
23. Barthes compares the writer to:
A. A sculptor
B. A musician
C. A scriptor
D. A prophet
Answer: C
24. The “scriptor” writes but does not:
A. Think
B. Express
C. Create
D. Precede the text
Answer: D
25. Barthes believes literature should be:
A. Criticized politically
B. Taught biographically
C. Read pluralistically
D. Archived historically
Answer: C

Reader, Text, and Meaning

26. The reader's role, in Barthes’s view, is:

A. Passive receiver
B. Active producer of meaning
C. Compiler of quotes
D. Eraser of context
Answer: B
27. In “The Death of the Author,” writing is seen as:
A. Personal legacy
B. A commercial product
C. Language performing itself
D. A religious act
Answer: C
28. Barthes claims that when the author is gone, the text becomes:
A. Dead
B. Sacred
C. Independent
D. Illegible
Answer: C
29. Why does Barthes critique the Western literary tradition?
A. For ignoring readers
B. For exploiting workers
C. For its focus on authorial authority
D. For promoting censorship
Answer: C
30. In Barthes’ theory, meaning resides:
A. In the author's psychology
B. In the cultural moment
C. In the interaction between text and reader
D. In narrative structures
Answer: C

More Detailed and Reflective

31. Which genre of literature is most affected by “author worship,” according to Barthes?
A. Drama
B. Novel
C. Poetry
D. Biography
Answer: C
32. Barthes suggests a text has:
A. One fixed meaning
B. A historical source
C. Multiple layers of interpretation
D. Authorial consistency
Answer: C
33. What does Barthes say happens when a reader focuses on the author?
A. They discover more meaning
B. They limit interpretation
C. They enhance creativity
D. They improve objectivity
Answer: B
34. What is a common critical mistake according to Barthes?
A. Ignoring the editor
B. Over-relying on themes
C. Treating the author’s biography as the key to the text
D. Using psychoanalysis
Answer: C
35. Barthes encourages the reader to approach the text with:
A. Reverence for the author
B. Suspicion
C. Creative engagement
D. Structural tools
Answer: C

Philosophical and Stylistic

36. Barthes’ writing style in the essay is best described as:

A. Objective and neutral
B. Dense and poetic
C. Journalistic
D. Historical
Answer: B
37. Barthes’ essay influenced which later movement?
A. Romanticism
B. Poststructuralism
C. Naturalism
D. Realism
Answer: B
38. Barthes’ death of the author is a metaphor for:
A. Ignoring copyright
B. Detaching meaning from origins
C. Ending literature
D. Authorial suicide
Answer: B
39. What is the final consequence of "the author's death"?
A. Censorship
B. Reader freedom
C. Decline of literature
D. End of criticism
Answer: B
40. According to Barthes, every text is:
A. A reflection of its author
B. A product of culture
C. Intertextual
D. A moral message
Answer: C
The Death of the Author – MCQs (Set 2)

Philosophical and Literary Context

1. Barthes’ essay challenges the tradition of literary interpretation rooted in:

A. Reader-centered theory
B. Structuralist linguistics
C. Romanticism
D. Feminist criticism
Answer: C
2. Barthes links the idea of the author to which religious figure in metaphor?
A. Buddha
B. God
C. Christ
D. Prophet
Answer: B
3. According to Barthes, the author is a modern figure arising from:
A. Antiquity
B. The Middle Ages
C. The Renaissance
D. The Enlightenment
Answer: C
4. The “death” Barthes refers to is primarily:
A. Literal
B. Political
C. Metaphorical
D. Historical
Answer: C
5. Barthes views the author’s identity as:
A. Central to understanding text
B. An illusion
C. A historical necessity
D. A moral compass
Answer: B
Structure, Text, and Meaning

6. The text, in Barthes’ theory, becomes a:

A. Site of production
B. Historical object
C. Closed system
D. Moral document
Answer: A
7. Barthes describes a literary text as a:
A. Closed book
B. Monument
C. Multi-dimensional space
D. Sacred scripture
Answer: C
8. Who generates the meaning of a text, according to Barthes?
A. The author’s biography
B. Cultural history
C. The reader
D. The critic
Answer: C
9. Barthes equates the author with:
A. Genius
B. Authority
C. Narrator
D. Hero
Answer: B
10. In Barthes’ view, writing detaches the author from:
A. Society
B. Time
C. Their own voice
D. Interpretation
Answer: C

Reader, Interpretation, and Criticism

11. Barthes views the reader’s role as:

A. Subordinate
B. Interpretive and free
C. Objective
D. Biographical
Answer: B
12. Barthes opposes what kind of reading?
A. Critical reading
B. Political reading
C. Biographical reading
D. Postcolonial reading
Answer: C
13. Barthes’ ideas contrast sharply with which literary approach?
A. Marxist
B. New Criticism
C. Biographical-historical method
D. Formalism
Answer: C
14. According to Barthes, a text does not have a:
A. Grammar
B. Meaning
C. Fixed origin
D. Structure
Answer: C
15. Barthes argues that the birth of the reader implies:
A. Death of literature
B. End of structure
C. Death of the author
D. Rise of Marxist theory
Answer: C

Terminology and Metaphor

16. Barthes compares the writer to a:

A. Conductor
B. Priest
C. Script machine
D. Scriptor
Answer: D
17. A “scriptor,” in Barthes’ view, does not precede:
A. Culture
B. The text
C. Society
D. Language
Answer: B
18. Barthes sees the text as a weave of:
A. Symbols
B. Cultures
C. Quotations
D. Narratives
Answer: C
19. The removal of the author opens space for:
A. Critical theory
B. Canonical readings
C. Multiplicity of interpretations
D. Moral judgment
Answer: C
20. Barthes identifies the author as a result of:
A. Religion
B. Modern literary criticism
C. Enlightenment values
D. Ancient traditions
Answer: B

Influences and Legacy

21. Which later theorist extended Barthes’ ideas with "What is an Author?"
A. Derrida
B. Foucault
C. Eagleton
D. Kristeva
Answer: B
22. Barthes’ rejection of authorial intent influenced:
A. Realism
B. Hermeneutics
C. Reader-response theory
D. Historicism
Answer: C
23. “Death of the Author” marks a shift from author to:
A. Language
B. Genre
C. Structure
D. Reader
Answer: D
24. Barthes argues that to give a text an author is to:
A. Limit its potential
B. Reveal its value
C. Clarify its meaning
D. Prolong interpretation
Answer: A
25. Barthes sees literature as not expression, but:
A. Structure
B. Performance
C. Production
D. Function
Answer: C
Deconstruction and Semiotics

26. What key idea from semiotics underlies Barthes’ argument?

A. Signifier and signified
B. Icon and index
C. Sign and symbol
D. Object and referent
Answer: A
27. Barthes sees language as operating beyond:
A. Human control
B. Intent
C. Context
D. Morality
Answer: B
28. “The text is a tissue of quotations” implies:
A. Text is unoriginal
B. All writing is referential
C. Meaning is historical
D. Culture is static
Answer: B
29. Barthes removes the author to free:
A. Publishing
B. The marketplace
C. Interpretation
D. Language
Answer: C
30. In Barthes’ view, authorial presence leads to:
A. Clarity
B. Multiplicity
C. Tyranny of meaning
D. Reader engagement
Answer: C

Literary Practice and Reception

31. Barthes’ ideas influenced which literary practice?

A. Author interviews
B. Literary biography
C. Textual deconstruction
D. Symbolic realism
Answer: C
32. According to Barthes, traditional criticism is obsessed with:
A. Reader identity
B. Political ideology
C. Discovering the author’s voice
D. Visual imagery
Answer: C
33. “The voice loses its origin” means:
A. Text speaks on its own
B. Language disappears
C. Reader becomes author
D. History is rewritten
Answer: A
34. Barthes aligns meaning with:
A. Fixed language
B. Cultural rituals
C. Interpretation
D. Authorial will
Answer: C
35. Why does Barthes call the author a “modern figure”?
A. Because writing is ancient
B. Because authorship emerged in the Renaissance
C. Because it reflects capitalist ideology
D. Because modern criticism created it
Answer: D

Contrasts and Connections

36. Barthes’ idea contrasts with that of:

A. T.S. Eliot
B. Michel Foucault
C. New Critics
D. Derrida
Answer: C
37. Barthes believes writing begins with:
A. Language
B. Intention
C. Experience
D. Meaning
Answer: A
38. The essay is part of Barthes’ critique of:
A. Realism
B. Modernism
C. Bourgeois ideology
D. Romanticism
Answer: D
39. The author's identity is described as:
A. Stable
B. Dispersed
C. Sacred
D. Rational
Answer: B
40. In Barthes’ view, authority belongs to:
A. Author
B. Reader
C. Critic
D. Publisher
Answer: B

Modern Implications

41. Barthes’ theory allows for:

A. Repression
B. Plurality of readings
C. End of literature
D. Loss of culture
Answer: B
42. The text becomes what kind of space, according to Barthes?
A. Sacred
B. Hierarchical
C. Democratic
D. Plural
Answer: D
43. The essay’s title suggests a/an:
A. Political revolution
B. Literary innovation
C. Symbolic rupture
D. Autobiographical crisis
Answer: C
44. Barthes considers text as lacking:
A. Form
B. Intention
C. Authority
D. Origin
Answer: D
45. A major consequence of “death of the author” is:
A. Literary silence
B. Critic’s supremacy
C. Reader’s empowerment
D. Genre confusion
Answer: C
46. Meaning in a text is ultimately:
A. Determined
B. Stable
C. Infinite
D. Negotiated
Answer: D
47. For Barthes, reading becomes an act of:
A. Analysis
B. Authorship
C. Resistance
D. Mimicry
Answer: B
48. Barthes sees intertextuality as:
A. Distortion
B. Enrichment
C. Confusion
D. Limitation
Answer: B
49. Roland Barthes belonged to which nationality?
A. German
B. Swiss
C. French
D. Italian
Answer: C
50. “The Death of the Author” was originally written in:
A. French
B. German
C. English
D. Latin
Answer: A