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Roland Barthes' Semiotic Theory

Updated: Feb 7, 2020

Hermeneutic or Enigma codes

This code refers to mystery within a text. Clues are dropped, but no clear answers are given. Enigmas within the narrative make the audience want to know more. Unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience.


Symbolic code

This code is about symbolism within the text. It exercises opposites to show contrast and create greater meaning, creating tension, drama and character


Referential code-

This code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge.


SIGNIFIER AND SIGNIFIED…

The sign can be broken into two parts, the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the thing, item, or code that we ‘read’ – so, a drawing, a word, a photo. Each signifier has a signified, the idea or meaning being expressed by that signifier. Only together do they form a sign. There is often no intrinsic or direct relationship between a signifier and a signified e.g. If we take the spoken word ‘cool’ as a signifier, what might be the signified? In one context or situation, cool might refer to temperature. But in another, it might refer to something as ‘stylish’ or ‘popular’. The relationship between signifier and signified can change over time and in different contexts.


SIGNS

There are three types of signs in the study of semiotics:

1) Iconic signs – icons are signs where meaning is based on similarity of appearance.

2) Indexical signs –Indexical signs have a cause-and-effect relationship between the sign and the meaning of the sign. There is a direct link between the two.


Proairetic/Action code-

This code contains sequential elements of action in the text. Proairetic elements add suspense to the text.


Semantic code

This code refers to parts within the text that suggests or references to additional meanings. Elements of the semantic code are called Semes. The seme has a connotative function in the text. It has an extra layer of meaning in addition to its literal meaning


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