Critique et verité, translated into English as Criticism and Truth (trans. Katrine Pilcher Keuneman, intro. Philip Thody, London: The Athlone Press, 1987), is Barthes's response to Raymond Picard's Nouvelle critique ou nouvelle imposture (Paris: Jean-Jacques Pauvert, 1965). Picard's text, translated as New Criticism or New Fraud? (trans. Frank Towne, Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1969), is a critique of Barthes's Sur Racine (Paris: Seuil, 1963) and Essais critiques (Paris: Seuil, 1964). The critical dispute between Barthes and Picard, which attracted responses from many other academics and commentators, drew attention to Barthes outside of France. Certainly, the “Quarrel” or “the Picard Affair”, as it has been called occurred at a time just before Barthes became widely read in the Anglo-American world and it therefore contributed, in subtle ways, to the initial responses his work produced in...
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Citation: Allen, Graham. "Critique et verité". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10344, accessed 05 December 2025.]
