Castle Through Time from ancient siege to tourist attraction

243 Post‑Structuralism: Unstable Meaning and Deconstruction

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Students learn that post‑structuralism rejects the stability of the structures identified by structuralism. Derrida argues that meaning is never fixed, because signs rely on other signs in endless chains (différance). Post‑structuralism exposes instability, slippage, ambiguity, contradiction, and challenges binary oppositions rather than relying on them.
Post‑structuralism critiques the “metaphysics of presence” and argues meaning is “endlessly mediated through an infinite chain of meanings”.

Students will:

  • Explain why meaning is unstable in post‑structuralist theory.
  • Identify contradictions, ambiguities, or slippages in a text.
  • Deconstruct one binary opposition to show that it is not stable.

Post‑structuralists believe:

  • Meaning always shifts (“différance”).
  • Texts contradict themselves.
  • Binary oppositions are hierarchical but also unstable.
  • The author cannot fully control meaning.
  • Readers produce meaning.
  • Deconstruction
  • Instability
  • Slippage
  • Indeterminacy
  • Reversal of hierarchy
  • “The text undermines itself when…”
  • “This binary appears stable, but breaks down because…”
  • “Meaning slips here due to…”

✅ Acceptable phrasing:

  • “The text contains tensions that destabilise its own meaning.”

🚫 Do not accept:

  • “The text has one stable meaning.”

Two people can own the same car, but one of the drivers experiences mechanical issues and feels the model is unreliable whilst another has no issues or concerns. Two opinions of the same object compete because of different experiences.

We might also be told by the brand that it is reliable, whilst research into the brand might discover serious issues, poor survey results and even fraud. Our experience with an object can often be very different to the one intended by the maker. Whilst structuralism says that signs inherit meaning from older, larger structures, deconstruction says that today’s experiences can impart meaning upon signs just as readily. Now there are two competing meaning systems, the established and inherited past (the advert that convinced us to buy the car) competing with the de-stabalising effect of today (our experience of ownership). The maker of the vehicle cannot control an owner’s experience with the car once it has left the factory.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth intends to tell a story that establishes the Monarch as the highest authority on Earth. But there are natural contradictions in the narrative that undermine the story, whilst the signs have become encoded with new meanings over time, so that we can’t decode the text in the same way anymore.

The King, Duncan, has been murdered by Macbeth, and around this event there are many signs of wealth and power placed around Duncan to embue him status. His silvered skin, his golden blood; Duncan will be escorted to heaven by angels; honour; stars.

These signs connect Duncan to heaven as being the figure ordained by God to lead on Earth, and give him wealth and riches that increase his value.

The actions of men are of course watched over by God, who stood by and did not intervene with the death of Duncan. Nor did he intervene with the vengeance, the killing of Macbeth and Duncan’s Heir, Malcolm returning to the throne.

Why this texts demonstrates the lesson objectives:

  • Changes to the encoded meaning of kings and monarchy,
  • Changes to the encoded meaning of wealth and power,
  • Internal contradictions as to which king is ordained by God.

Question: How is power represented in Macbeth?

Power is shown through the presence of the King. The King has power over other people and is put their by God. But Macbeth kills Duncan and so he has power over a king, and then obtains power over the country. A king has wealth too, and we see this metaphor when Macbeth describes Duncan as having silver skin and golden blood. It means he is wealthy and powerful, and also means the the king is as loved as gold is loved because the gold is a metaphor for something we desire. Duncan was a desirable king, as valuable as gold.

Why if fails

  • It focuses too heavily on reading into metaphors,
  • It mainly tells back the plot and the language used by the author,
  • It isn’t yet using language transferable across different texts, other than that of defining language devices,
  • It isn’t engaged with how signs come to adopt new meanings out of the control of the author.

The signs of monarchy have changed so that the King no longer has authority in Britain, nor many places in the world. The signs of Monarchy are now encoded as being colonial, imperial and oppressive. Authority is now in the hands of citizens through the democracy. Today’s audience does not choose to be critical of Monarchist rule – the signs of Monarchy have deteriorated because signs are instable, signs adopt new meanings through cultural encoding.

The signs of silver and gold implying wealth and thus authority have taken a severe decline in recent years where massive wealth inequality is encoding the signs of wealth with meanings of corruption, greed and poverty. Shakespeare cannot know how signs will change in future, and that because of changes to signs we can no longer access the meanings or interpretation that was once encoded into the text.

There are internal contradictions in the play also that are difficult for the author to resolve; if the King os ordained by God, and Macbeth was coronated, God must have willed it. But Macbeth was also killed, and Malcolm coronated in the same play. So how can we trust that any king is truly ordained? The paradox means audiences are just as likely to interpret the signs in ways not approved by the author; that Kings can be killed as there is no divine intervention.

Why it succeeds:

  • It recognises that the meanings of signs change over time, in ways the author cannot predict,
  • It does not say that readers interpret for themselves, the signs carry their meanings through literary awareness that the reader is not in control of,
  • The language of signs, encoding and degradation is highly transferable when the texts are old because there has been greater encoding, decoding and slippage over time.

What leads to meaning change in signs, and do readers truly make personal interpretations?

  • Cultural change adds meaning to signs,
  • Readers are showing awareness of cultural change attached to signs,
  • Readers are decoding these meanings, we are not making personal impressions,
  • Any personal or subjective impression is not a true literary analysis.

Task (Guided → Independent)
Students analyse how the extract destabilises meaning and challenges binary oppositions.

Instructions to Students

  1. Choose one binary pair from the extract.
  2. Use at least two post‑structuralist terms (instability, slippage, différance, deconstruction, reversal of hierarchy).
  3. Begin with:
    • “This binary appears stable, but breaks down because…”
    • “The text undermines itself when…”
  4. Explain how meaning becomes uncertain, contradictory, or unstable.
  • Success Criteria
    A successful response will:
  • Avoid fixed interpretations or simple character judgement
  • Identify the binary
  • Show how it collapses or reverses
  • Demonstrate awareness of unstable meaning

How has the encoded meaning of food changed over thousands of years?

Students might think about:

  • Food used to mean life and death – the uncertainty of the safety of the food and the scarcity,
  • Industrialisation promised an end to food rationing, an end to seasonal produce, and a future of food security,
  • Globalisation has encoded food as no longer exotic but year-round,
  • GMOs promised better, tastier and cheaper crops,
  • Food has become comodified into brands and instant meals, food is no longer about health and survival but fashion, celebrity endorsements and addictive qualities.

a) Pre-reading of the next lesson – read through the knowledge so you can be ready to discuss in class.

b) Apply the learning of today’s lesson to your own private reading text. Write a paragraph explaining how today’s learning changes how you might conceive your text. Be sure to use the key vocabulary and sentence stems.

c) Write a paragraph about the discipline of Literature, explain how key words from today’s lesson impact the field overall.

d) Add today’s vocabulary and sentence stems to your own glossary. Highlight any that you are unsure about, but you must also research the meanings yourself and develop your glossary to include this differentiated support.

How did you do? Remember, this is the disciplinary knowledge for Literature – it needs combining with the text you are studying now. Can you use this knowledge to write differently about the text you are studying? When you are ready, access the next lesson in this series.