This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work and thought of Umberto Eco - one of the most important writers in Europe today.

"Eco wittily and enchantingly develops themes often touched on in his previous works, but he delves deeper into their complex nature . . . this collection can be read with pleasure by those unversed in semiotic theory." —Times Literary Supplement

This text explores four books produced by one of the most prominent semioticians of the previous century, Umberto Eco, in order to create a semiotic meta-theory which enhances a multifarious way of “readability” and scientifically justifies the dichotomy between the creation of a work of art and its being read, visualized and experienced by the audience. It begins by treating the “narration” component as one of the main theoretical challenges of Eco’s theory, specifically focusing on the concept of time, seen from the linguistic and semiotic viewpoints. The book also explores Eco’s text theory, as well as “semiotics proper”, representing an analysis of the “encoding” and “decoding” theories. In addition, it exemplifies the “openness” and “collaboration” between the writer and the reader, as well as relationships between the creator and audience in all forms of art. The book will appeal to scholars, students, and intellectuals who want to have a detailed knowledge of Eco’s overall contribution to semiotics, and seek a “formula” which would inter-connect informational and code theories with the narration method, so as to create what we call “interpretative semiotics” today.

Discusses the differences between "open" and "closed" texts, or, texts that actively involve the reader and texts that evoke a limited, predetermined response from the reader. -- Back cover.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work and thought of Umberto Eco - one of the most important writers in Europe today.