The Gentlest Law

Rich in informative and provocative suggestions for interpreting all of Barthes’s texts, this unique work proposes a comprehensive commentary on Barthes’s brilliant, programmatic book, The Pleasure of the Text. Fully explained intertexts illustrate the theory of intertextuality and clarify the book’s most enigmatic and complex concepts. Also included are corrections of the serious errors in the English translation. The introduction assesses the importance of The Pleasure of the Text in Barthes’s evolution and defines intertextuality and other key Barthesian notions such as écriture; a bibliography and index complete this valuable and most unusual study. Students and professors alike will find it indispensable.