Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can refer to an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. The term “intertextuality” has, itself, been borrowed and transformed many times since it was coined by poststructuralist Julia Kristeva in 1966. As critic William Irwin says, the term “has come to have almost as many meanings as users, from those faithful to Kristeva’s original vision to those who simply use it as a stylish way of talking about allusion and influence” (Irwin, 228). The term text has multiple meanings depending on its context of use: In language, text is a broad term for something that contains words to express something. ... Post-structuralism is a body of work that followed in the wake of structuralism, and sought to understand the Western world as a network of structures, as in structuralism, but in which such structures are ordered primarily by local, shifting differences (as in deconstruction) rather than grand binary oppositions and... Julia Kristeva (Bulgarian: ) (born 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, psychoanalyst, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has lived in France since the mid-1960s. ... Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. ... Influence Science and Practice (ISBN 0321188950) is a Psychology book examining the key ways people can be influenced by Compliance Professionals. The books authors is Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. ...

Intertextuality and poststructuralism

Kristeva’s coinage of “intertextuality” represents an attempt to synthesize Saussure’s structuralist semiotics—his study of how signs derive their meaning within the structure of a text—with Bakhtin’s dialogism—his examination of the multiple meanings, or “heteroglossia,” in each text (especially novels) and word (Irwin, 228). For Kristeva (66), “the notion of intertextuality replaces the notion of intersubjectivity” when we realize that meaning is not transferred directly from writer to reader but instead is mediated through, or filtered by, “codes” imparted to the writer and reader by other texts. For example, when we read Joyce’s Ulysses we decode it as a modernist literary experiment, or as a response to the epic tradition, or as part of some other conversation, or as part of all of these conversations at once. This intertextual view of literature, as shown by Roland Barthes, supports the concept that the meaning of an artistic work does not reside in that work, but in the viewers. More recent post-structuralist theory, such as that formulated in Daniela Caselli's Beckett's Dantes: Intertextuality in the Fiction and Criticism (MUP 2005), re-examines "intertextuality" as a production within texts, rather than as a series of relationships between different texts. Some postmodern theorists ^{[citation needed]} like to talk about the relationship between "intertextuality" and "hypertextuality"; intertextuality makes each text a "mosaic of quotations" (Kristeva, 66) and part of a larger mosaic of texts, just as each hypertext can be a web of links and part of the whole World-Wide Web. Saussure Ferdinand de Saussure (November 26, 1857 - February 22, 1913) was a Swiss linguist, considered by many to be the father of structuralism. ... See also structural analysis and structural functionalism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sign can denote any of the following: Look up sign on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In English, Dialogic is a term used by the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin in his work of literary theory, The Dialogic Imagination. ... In linguistics, the term heteroglossia describes the coexistence of distinct varieties within a single linguistic code. ... Intersubjectivity refers to the the common-sense, shared meanings constructed by people in their interactions with each other and used as an everyday resource to interpret the meaning of elements of social and cultural life. ... There are several famous individuals with the name Joyce: Ella Joyce, American actress James Joyce, Irish novelist Joyce (singer), Brazilian singer-songwriter Dr. Joyce Brothers, TV personality Joyce Cavalcante, Brazilian novelist Joyce Chen, chef Joyce DeWitt, American actress (Threes Company) Joyce Kilmer, American poet Joyce Maynard, American writer Joyce... The name Ulysses can mean: The Roman equivalent of Odysseus A 1922 novel by James Joyce: Ulysses (novel) A 1967 movie based on the novel, Ulysses (movie) A solar probe: Ulysses (spacecraft) A poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson A anime television program produced by DiC Entertainment: Ulysses 31 An indie... This article focuses on the cultural movement labeled modernism or the modern movement. See also: Modernism (Roman Catholicism) or Modernist Christianity; Modernismo for specific art movement(s) in Spain and Catalonia. ... Roland Barthes Roland Barthes (November 12, 1915 – March 25, 1980) was a French literary critic, literary and social theorist, philosopher, and semiotician. ... Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish dramatist, novelist and poet. ... Dante redirects here. ... Graphic representation of the world wide web around Wikipedia The World Wide Web (WWW, or simply Web) is an information space in which the items of interest, referred to as resources, are identified by global identifiers called Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI). ...

"Intertextuality" and competing terms

Some critics have complained that the ubiquity of the term "intertextuality" in postmodern criticism has crowded out related terms and important nuances. Irwin (227) laments that intertextuality has eclipsed allusion as an object of literary study while lacking the latter term's clear definition. Hutcheon argues that excessive interest in intertextuality obscures the role of the author, because intertextuality can be found "in the eye of the beholder" and does not necessarily entail a communicator's intentions. By contrast, parody, Hutcheon's preferred term, always features an author who actively encodes a text as an imitation with critical difference. Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. ... In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ...

Examples and history of intertextuality

While the theoretical concept of intertextuality is associated with post-modernism, the thing itself is not new. New Testament passages quote from the Old Testament and Old Testament books such as Deuteronomy or the prophets refer to the events described in Exodus (though on using 'intertextuality' to describe the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, see Porter 1997). Whereas a redaction critic would use such intertextuality to argue for a particular order and process of the authorship of the books in question, literary criticism takes a synchronic view that deals with the texts in their final form, as an interconnected body of literature. This interconnected body extends to later poems and paintings that refer to Biblical narratives, just as other texts build networks around Greek and Roman Classical history and mythology. Bullfinch's 1855 work The Age Of Fable served as an introduction to such an intertextual network; according to its author, it was intended "...for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets...". Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak. ... Exodus is the second book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Greco-Roman be merged into this article or section. ... Thomas Bulfinch (July 15, 1796 - May 27, 1867) was an American writer, born in Newton, Massachusetts to a highly-educated but not rich Bostonian merchant family. ...

Sometimes intertextualiy is taken as plagiarism as in the case of Spanish writer Lucía Etxebarría whose poem collection Estación de infierno (2001) was found to contain metaphors and verses from Antonio Colinas. Etxebarría claimed that she admired him and applied intertextuality. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Lucía Etxebarría de Asteinza (1966, Bermeo, Biscay) is a Spanish writer. ...

Intertextuality in pop culture

Intertextuality occurs frequently in popular media such as television shows, movies, novels and even interactive video games. In these cases, intertextuality is often used to provide depth to the fictional reality portrayed in the medium, such as characters in one television show mentioning characters from another. Fox Television's The O.C. is one example of television using intertextuality, with its frequent references to comic book and movie characters such as Spider-Man and Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker.^{[citation needed]} Drama series Lost has a large number of intertextual tie-ins, including websites, broadcasts, and even a novel written by a character, which purport elements from the series to be real. A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... A fictional universe is a cohesive fictional world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... The O.C. is an American television comedy-drama program broadcast on the FOX Network in the US and on various networks around the world. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the revamped original Star Wars Trilogy. ... Luke Skywalker (born 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by Mark Hamill. ... Lost is an American drama/ thriller television series that follows the present and past lives of a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, somewhere in the South Pacific. ...

Notable examples of intertextuality include animated series like The Simpsons, Futurama, and Family Guy which are very heavily dependent upon intertextual references as a source of humor. Intertextuality should be seen as more than sly references and in-jokes, however. Consider Babylon 5's interplay with Lord of the Rings or Buffy the Vampire Slayer's frequent riffing on themes from older mythological source material as examples of intertextuality. Simpsons redirects here. ... Futurama is an animated American cartoon series created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen (also a writer for The Simpsons). ... Family Guy is an American animated comedy created by Seth MacFarlane for FOX in 1999. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997, until May 20, 2003. ... A riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a rock music or jazz composition. ...

References

• Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. New York: Methuen, 1985.
• Irwin, William. ''Against Intertextuality''. Philosophy and Literature, v28, Number 2, October 2004, pp. 227-242.
• Kristeva, Julia. Desire in Language: A Semiotic Approach to Literature and Art. New York:Columbia University Press, 1980.
• Porter, Stanley E. "The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament: A Brief Comment on Method and Terminology." In Early Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals (eds. C. A. Evans and J. A. Sanders; JSNTSup 14; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 79-96.

See also

• Literary theory
• Post-structuralism
• Semiotics