Customer Reviews

Elements of Semiology

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Semiology had its birth with Saussure and the publication of his lecture notes by students in 1916, entitled Course in General Linguistics. Semiology was to be a general science of signs, of which linguistics would be one part. However, over time it has become clear that there exist no complex systems of symbols completely removed from language. Semioticians have recognized, then, that "linguistics is not a part of the general science of signs, but rather it is semiology which is a part of linguistics".

In this clearly written work, Barthes thus undertakes this task of semiolgy, under four main headings borrowed from structural anthropology (Claude Levi-Strauss) and clearly reliant on Saussure:

I. Language and Speech. (Saussure's langue and parole) II. Signified and Signifier. III. Syntagm and System. IV. Denotation and Connotation.

This book is written in a dense and terse style, and dates from 1964. For an introductory text, therefore, I would suggest instead Umberto Eco's "Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language". Yet for those who are set on studying Barthes, a very important figure in this field, then this book can be recommended.

This project was designed as an introductory text for Barthes' students. It assumes almost no prior knowledge of semiology or critical theory, and introduces the vocabulary of semiotics to the general reader. Barthes is one of the few theorists who writes without an extensive bibliography and notes. However, unlike his other books, Elements of Semiology, for ease of use and reference, includes an index and bibliography. Not exactly beach reading, but great for students of literature and cultural studies.

There is no reason to inflict this text on yourself. If you are looking for a primer, or at least a solid piercing of the semiological membrane, there are far superior works, such as the wonderful Semiology: The Basics by Daniel Chandler or Structural Poetics by Culler. This book, it seems to me, was meant as a fast and loose refrence for a class or a seminar: it rarely defines its terms, it seems disorganized and it is very dry, just listing method without any reason why one should be interested. The other two books, in particular Basics, were written long after Elements and thus are much more incompassing, including theory and practice, and Basics by Chandler even has a glossary at the back. Bartes may be the man, but this is definitly not the book; but, if your a Bartes completist, already well initiated into the world of Semiology and Structuralism, then by all means pick it up. Anyone else, steer clear.

This text, as with all pure critical theory, is certainly dense--there is no getting around that. Barthes brilliantly strings together a concise and well-defined basis of semiology from its roots in Saussure's dyadic model for a more structuralist, synchronic form of linguistics to Hjelmslev's proposal of a second-order system. Contrary to what another reviewer has asserted, Barthes does rigorously elucidate fundamental, complex terms. This text will provide every reader with a solid semiological foundation upon which to build a more specific or extensive knowledge of structuralism, linguistics, or semiology. As such, it is a wonderful place to begin for one who wishes to grasp these essential elements.

Barthes takes inscrutability to the stratosphere in this canary-colored pamphlet that packs the wallop of a dozen screaming ostriches tied together with bungee cords and set loose inside your skull. Each sentence is an excruciating hip-deep slog through the author's obscurantist parlance as he takes a presumption of your thorough digestion of the entire Western canon of literature as his starting point. If your eyes aren't bleeding by page three it can only be due to the distractive cloak provided by painful digestive problems or the sound of the leaking eternally-filling toilet behind you. Purchase multiple copies of this book by any means possible.