--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The text, in its mass, is comparable to a…" description: "\"“The text, in its mass, is comparable to a sky, at once flat and smooth, deep, without edges and without landmarks; like the soothsayer drawing on it w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/roland-barthes-1062_poetry_the-text-in-its-mass-is-comparable-to-a_2833067.png" --- # The text, in its mass, is comparable to a sky, at once… ![“The text, in its mass, is comparable to a sky, at once flat and smooth, deep, without edges and without landmarks; like the soothsayer drawing on it with the tip of his staff an imaginary rectangle wherein to consult, according to certain principles, the flight of birds, the commentator traces…” quote by Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/roland-barthes-1062_poetry_the-text-in-its-mass-is-comparable-to-a_2833067.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/roland-barthes-1062_poetry_the-text-in-its-mass-is-comparable-to-a_2833067.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/roland-barthes-1062_poetry_the-text-in-its-mass-is-comparable-to-a_2833067.png) > ““The text, in its mass, is comparable to a sky, at once flat and smooth, deep, without edges and without landmarks; like the soothsayer drawing on it with the tip of his staff an imaginary rectangle wherein to consult, according to certain principles, the flight of birds, the commentator traces through the text certain zones of reading, in order to observe therein the migration of meanings, the outcropping of codes, the passage of citations.”” [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The text is like a vast, featureless sky that scholars map, drawing imaginary zones to trace meanings, codes, and citations. **In simple terms:** Scholars map meaning in a text like a sky. Key Takeaway Use systematic analysis to uncover hidden layers. Themes interpretation semiotics reading analysis Mood analytical curious Type academic theoretical When to use this quote - literary criticism - academic research - digital humanities - teaching reading Key Concepts structuralism sign theory intertextuality Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which zones to map? - What limits does this method have? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective and may impose artificial boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birds Commentator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds-commentator-3671906/) [Commentator Traces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commentator-traces-3671907/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Text](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text/) [Text Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text-mass-3671908/) [Traces Text](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traces-text-3671905/) ## Related quotes > [“With the development of the printing press, not only could text be mass-produced quickly, it could also be mass-produced quickly and incorrectly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-bureau-chiefs/with-the-development-of-the-printing-press-not-only-could-text-be/) [The Bureau Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-bureau-chiefs/) > [The Text is not a definitive object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-text-is-not-a-definitive-object/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ \[Answering the phone\] Hello, this is a recording, you've dialed the right number, now hang up and don't do it again. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/answering-the-phone-hello-this-is-a-recording-you-ve-dialed-the-right/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) > [People call me and always leave a voice mail to call them right back.. 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Leave a message and Ill get back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-do-you-keep-an-idiot-in-suspense-leave-a-message-and-ill-get-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No calls? I understand. No text? I understand. But when you see me with someone else…please understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/no-calls-i-understand-no-text-i-understand-but-when-you-see-me-with/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [\*Calling someone I don't want to answer\* \*Please go to voice mail. Please go to voice mail. Please go to voice mail..\* Hello? -\_\_\_-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/calling-someone-i-don-t-want-to-answer-please-go-to-voice-mail-please/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) ## More by Roland Barthes > [“Werther identifies himself with the madman, with the footman. As a reader, I can identify myself with Werther. 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