Barthe's five narrative codes

Hermeneutic/ enigma code - a mystery within a piece of media that is not answered immediately. As an audience, we assume it will be answered by the end, and if it is not we are usually frustrated. We can also be let down if it gets solved too quickly, or is too obvious to the audience and they solve it too quickly. Examples of this can be found in TV shows such as Sherlock, where the answer is not obvious until the end.

Proairetic/ action code - related to things happening in parts of a narrative. Can also create suspense like enigma code, such as James Bond disarming a bomb, or similar suspense scenes, like solving something that, if not solved in time, has dire consequences.

Semantic code - Something within a piece of media that means something, often times with multiple meanings.

Symbolic code - A part of media that "stands in for", or means something else, such as symbolic imagery, like a certain colour. For example, the colour purple may be considered regal. The deeper meaning of a text.

Referential code - Where the piece of media refer to something outside of it - such as product placement in movies, or even the mention of the Titanic in An Inspector Calls. The audience are more likely to get the joke if they have knowledge of it outside the text. It requires a lot of background knowledge to comprehend every reference, but the audience may read it as a creepy story with enigma and symbolic codes.