Electronic Literary Text in the Framework of Post-Structuralism Textology

Abstract

The article features the phenomenon of electronic literary text. The research objective was to identify the structural and semantic features of electronic literary texts within the framework of post-structuralism. The electronic literary text resulted not only from the development of information technology: it is also the product of the development of philosophical and linguistics ideas of post-structuralism. The post-structuralism perspective was not repeated exactly on the technological level of the electronic text representation. However, the post-structuralist text theory was reflected in the electronic literary text structure, i.e. its rhizomatic, decentered, fragmentary, intertextual, and simulation character. In particular, the attempt to build cohesion of semiotically diverse components in the electronic environment reflects the post-structuralists idea of chaos and disorganization. The attempt to provide the navigation in this multi-component unity by the key-word hyperlinks reflects the idea of the total interconnectivity of all structural components, i.e. intertextuality. The phenomenon of intertextuality defines the culmination of decenterment and nomadism in the text theory. It is connected with the rhizomatic concept and hypertextuality. The research used electronic literary texts based on Adobe Flash and HTML. The research employed general scientific methods, such as monitoring and description, in conjunction with the method of comparative linguistic analysis. The author concludes that the text perception and electronic virtual world immersion become much more important than the artifacts in the electronic literature of XXI century. The electronic literary text became the poststructuralist concept of the new esthetic object, lost its integrity and composition stability, and opened itself to external input.