O autor

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss some important questions onthe meaning of the concept of “author”. First, it explains how RolandBarthes criticizes such a notion by stressing the reader’s role in thecomprehension of a text’s meaning. Then, Foucault is mentioned:he notes the important role the reader plays for the unity of thetext’s sense, but he is also aware of the possibility of a readable“author function”; the reader himself is the one who makes usrealize the actual existence of authorship. Also discussed is Possenti’shypothesis that it is possible to look for traces of authorship, forexample, in a simple text. Finally the following definition of theconcept is proposed: authorship is a kind of linguistic and discursiveattitude, an act of inscription by which the agent takes one’s standand articulates foregoing discourses and a later reception, accordingto personal tactics and specific style.