Roland Barthes the death of the author
Barthes suggests that the author only exists to prop up the idea of the critic, and the critic only exists to decipher the authors intention (p. 147, 1967). No-one learns in this case, as the text purely exists as a canvas to explore the author, instead of the text existing with themes worth exploring on their own merit.
Reference
Barthes R. (1967) Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana.