Ransom And Foucault's Criticism, Inc.

A clear definition of an author and how the author relates to the text is an issue that elicits debate among scholars, philosophers and researchers. John Crowe Ransom and Michel Foucault are two well-known critics who attempt to offer explanations of who an author is. Using their texts Criticism, Inc. and What is an Author, this essay aims at highlighting how these critics define the concept of an author and how each enhances our understanding of it.
In Criticism, Inc. Ransom argues that proper criticism of a text is one in which the ethical and historical aspects are eliminated and instead focus given to the text itself. In this case, Ransom clearly eliminates the idea of the individual author or writer in understanding a text but instead
Foucault’s understanding of an author is closely related to that of Ransom’s in that they both perceive the author as one who is greatly influenced by the language used in the text. In other words, Foucault sees the author as a subject position within the language of writing. To illustrate this point, Foucault uses the idea of the name of an author. He asserts that authors’ names are differentiated by the various texts associated with them. He argues that a “name can group together a number of texts and thus differentiate them from others” (Foucault, 1627). In other words, Foucault appears to suggest that an author refers to the individual around which certain texts are associated. The making of this author depends on the texts in
He says that such names do not simply refer to these individuals as persons but also point to the works and thoughts associated with them. This further indicates that the author is a product of various works associated with him. This means that, if for instance, Foucault were to be asked ‘who writes the poem’, it is likely that his response would be based on similar works done under that name. Foucault gives the major characteristics of the author function. First, Foucault suggests that authorship is simply about the ownership of a piece of work. He asserts that in the historical context, documents such as speeches and books were given real authors, as opposed to “other than mythical or important religious figures” (Foucault, 1628). This was mainly done when the author became a subject of punishment. In other words, Foucault points to the idea that the author as the person who owns a given text or writing, regardless of how that text is