Exercise 4.5 Signifier - Signified

I read and made notes on Barthes in an exercise for Understanding Visual Culture, and do not repeat here.

I also analysed an advertisment for Assignment 3 of that course  in some detail; so here look at the same advertisment specifically in respect of signifier-signified:

Signifier	Signified
Women	Female watch/ring
Beautiful women	The jewellery is a thing of beauty
Laughter	Contentment - carefree
Carefully constructed table - white cloth, flower, wine glass	upmarket location
Two items of jewellery	Complementarity

Although a lot of Barthes' work is immersed in linguistic complexity, the disticntion between signifier and signified has, I believe, stood test of time. It has resonance with other topics in this course, such as the depiction of Landscapes in a favourable way to highlight the positive nature of human development; and the objectification of women.