What are the points of convergence between Derrida and Barthes?
[A] Both believe in the endless play in language and literary texts.
[B] Both conclude that the meaning of a text is not final.
[C] Both construe that language has retrospective power.
[D] They believe that no meaning is reliable.
[E] They believe that “the relationship between words, meanings and texts are intrinsic to meaning rather than the word itself”.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct answer is A, B, D and E only.

To understand why this option is correct, let us analyze the points of convergence (agreements) between the theories of Jacques Derrida (key figure of Deconstruction) and Roland Barthes (specifically in his post-structuralist phase, famous for "The Death of the Author"):

Analysis of the Statements:
1. Statement [A] ("Both believe in the endless play in language and literary texts"): This is correct. Derrida's concept of différance suggests that meaning is constantly deferred and is a product of the endless play of signifiers. Similarly, Barthes, in works like S/Z and The Death of the Author, argues that a text is a tissue of citations and that its meaning is a result of the infinite play of codes and signifiers rather than a static entity.
2. Statement [B] ("Both conclude that the meaning of a text is not final"): This is correct. For Derrida, there is no "transcendental signified" or ultimate origin of meaning outside of language. For Barthes, the meaning of a text is never fixed; the "death of the author" liberates the text, allowing the reader to generate multiple, non-final interpretations.
3. Statement [C] ("Both construe that language has retrospective power"): This is not a primary point of convergence or characteristic defining their shared post-structuralist stance on textual interpretation in the context of these options.
4. Statement [D] ("They believe that no meaning is reliable"): This is correct. Since meaning is constantly deferred (Derrida) and depends entirely on the reader's construction from a web of cultural codes (Barthes), any fixed or singular "stable" meaning is seen as an illusion and inherently unreliable.
5. Statement [E] ("They believe that 'the relationship between words, meanings and texts are intrinsic to meaning rather than the word itself'"): This is correct. Both thinkers align with the Saussurean view that signs do not have inherent meaning in isolation. Instead, meaning is relational and structural—arising from the differences and relationships between words, sentences, and texts (intertextuality) rather than residing within a single word itself.

Therefore, statements A, B, D, and E represent the valid points of convergence between Derrida and Barthes, making A, B, D and E only the correct option.