Intertextual Elements Research Articles

A Study of the Effects of Intertextuality Awareness on Reading Literary Texts: The Case of Short Stories

Intertextuality can be generally defined as the influence and presence of previous texts in the construction of the present one; it shows the internal relations of a text with all other relating texts (Booker, 1996; Halliday, 2003). The consensus is that no text is a complete creation of its author; rather, it is constructed through the process of interconnections of textual elements of the relating texts and the author’s creativity. In literary texts, intertextuality plays crucial roles (Abrams, 1993: 185-6; Peck and Coyle, 2002: 143). The author, un/consciously appeals to intertextual elements, elaborates them in his artistic career and creativity to create the intended text—prose/poetry. Accordingly, in reading literature, being aware of intertextuality seems to be important in better understanding of the text. The present paper studies possible effects of intertextuality awareness on reading literary texts—short stories. To this end, a group of 25 homogeneous students of English literature at Arak University, Iran, were asked to take part in the study. Two short stories, as tasks of elicitation, were first given to them as pretest to read and answer the questions. Then, after 6 sessions of treatments relating to intertextuality, its features and examples, they were given the same stories, as posttest, to read and answer the questions. Their answers in both pre- and post tests were scored by two raters, and then compared. The results revealed strong effects of intertextuality awareness on reading the texts. Possible causes of the results along with the implications of the findings are discussed. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n2p155

Intertextualidad entre las obras "Las violetas son las flores del deseo" y "Las hortensias"

The work of Ana Clavel is full of intertextual elements. Ana Clavel comes back to different authors, as is the case of Felisberto Hernandez or the surrealist Hans Bellmer. Therefore, Las violetas son las flores del deseo becomes a privileged instrument for the intertextual analyze between the work of Felisberto Hernandez, Las hortensias, and the work of the surrealist artist, Hans Bellmer.

Dismantling the guitar hero? A case of prodused parody and disarmed subversion

A ‘shreds’ video combines existing live music concert footage, predominantly including a famous male rock guitarist or guitar based rock group, with a self-produced overdubbed soundtrack. The result is a musical parody that exists in an intersection between production and consumption and works as a within-genre evolution. The shred is controversial and its most popular instalments have been pulled from YouTube on claims of copyright infringement. This paper examines shreds as a form of multimodal intertextual critique by engaging with the videos themselves, as well as audience responses to them. As such, the applied method is genre analysis and multimodal semiotics geared towards the analysis of intertextual elements. The paper shows how prodused parody exists as a co-dependence between: (1) production and consumption; (2) homage and subversion; (3) comprehension and miscomprehension; and (4) media synchronicity and socioeconomic dis/harmony. The paper also discusses how shreds can be interpreted as tampered-with gender performances. In conclusion, it becomes clear that the produsage of shred videos is part of ‘piracy culture’ because it so carefully balances between the mainstream and counter-culture, between the legal and the illegal, and between the commoditized artefact and networked production.

Chris Abani’s Graceland and Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation: Nonstandard English, intertextuality and Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy

This article explores the use of nonstandard English forms and intertextuality in two recent works by Nigerian writers in English living abroad. To date, Chris Abani’s Graceland and Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation have attracted little critical commentary, far less any academic survey of their language, yet each book is in its own way representative of conflicting treatments of nonstandard varieties of Nigerian English by writers in the diaspora. Beasts of No Nation owes a considerable debt to the linguistic and stylistic experiments Ken Saro-Wiwa made in his novel Sozaboy and Iweala has drawn heavily on this work in his use of a first person narrator and his assignment of a limited, if forcefully expressive, language to his hero. According to Saro-Wiwa, Sozaboy is written in a mixture of Nigerian Pidgin (NP), Standard English (SE) and other forms. Graceland, however, makes selective use of nonstandard forms for reasons closer to those of earlier writers and makes this clear through its author’s insertion of intertextual elements. After providing an overview of the background to and characteristic features of NP and Nigerian English this article surveys their use in Nigerian literature and concludes by examining the language of Graceland and Beasts of No Nation through a linguistic comparison of shared episodes and a consideration of thematic similarities in order to place these two novels in a continuum of Nigerian writing in English through their use of language.

Building and Maintaining Contexts in Interactive Networked Writing: An Examination of Deixis and Intertextuality in Instant Messaging

In this article, the authors answer the call of the IText manifesto to use ITexts to explore fundamental issues of writing, describing instant messaging (IM) as a form of interactive networked writing (INW) and showing how IM writers discursively construct contexts. Specifically, they argue that writers use (a) deixis to build and maintain material contexts and (b) intertextuality to construct sociocultural contexts. Four intact IM transcripts were coded for instances of four kinds of deixis—space, time, person, and object—and for instances of intertextuality. Results showed that IM writers use all four kinds of deixis and that deictic elements made up almost 10% of the total words of the transcripts. In addition, two kinds of intertextual elements— direct quotation and cultural referents—were used to invoke, build, and sometimes undermine social and cultural contexts. The authors also discuss some of the material affordances and constraints of writing and conclude by arguing that INW is literally dialogic.

La traducción de los referentes culturales e intertextuales en el subtitulado: el caso de FRIENDS

El interés que suscita el estudio de los textos audiovisuales traducidos y su proceso de traducción ha crecido exponencialmente a lo largo de los últimos años. De entre las múltiples líneas de investigación dentro del ámbito de la traducción audiovisual, en este artículo se analiza la manera en que se traducen los referentes culturales e intertextuales a través de una de las modalidades de la TAV, el subtitulado, teniendo en cuenta los significativos avances producidos en los estudios de traducción a lo largo de los últimos años. Se ofrece un estudio de las soluciones adoptadas por el "subtitulador" ante la traducción de las referencias culturales e intertextuales presentes en los diálogos de la famosa serie Friends, tomando en consideración los aspectos que influyen en la decisión final y la creciente interconexión entre los diferentes lenguajes y culturas de las sociedades de la globalización.

Interlingual Metempsychosis: Translating Intertextuality in James Joyce’s <i>Ulysses</i>

Highlighting in its very title the unlimited dimensions of intertextuality, James Joyce‟s Ulysses selfconsciously establishes itself as a text that seems impossible to translate without losing essential elements. Ulysses, (in)famous for its multiple styles that in themselves seem to give shape and content to the various themes at hand, is a text for which the term „intertextuality‟ seems to fall short. With a particular eye for the problems that occur when translating intertextual elements of Ulysses into Dutch and other languages and following Fritz Senn‟s coinage of the term „interdynamism‟, this article sets out to investigate a handful of examples from Ulysses that pinpoint the problematic nature of the various echoes and allusions in it. Every sign is at a crossroads of varying purpose, and situatedness is integral to our understanding of it. What an establishment advertising „PAIN‟ has on offer depends (usually) on whether it is in France or in England. The sign „PAIN‟ outside a shop constitutes an invitation to acquire a commodity; on the wall of a derelict building, it is more likely to be a prose poem or a cry for help. The precise location matters. (Griffiths par. 8; emphasis mine) In his article “Intertextual Metempsychosis in Ulysses: Murphy, Sinbad, and the „U.P.: up‟ Postcard”, James Ramey argues that „[. . .] Bloom‟s observation that his “name was changed” [. . .] resonates with the metatextual dynamics of Ulysses, since it recalls the transmigration of characters from ancient to modern texts—a process I call intertextual metempsychosis—which is so intrinsic to Joyce‟s methodology. As the “Odysseus” of the novel, Bloom‟s “name was changed” in the sense that Joyce decided to call him “Bloom”, rather than “Odysseus” or “Ulysses”‟ (97; emphases mine). Ramey‟s words help introduce the salient issue I shall be tackling here: how do translators of Ulysses deal with instances of textual „transmigration‟ that make any solution they will come up with seem at best flawed; how come, by extension, that translators of Ulysses always seem to be „almosting it‟ (U 3.366-67), rather than ever arrive at an Ithaca where critics will unanimously affirm

A Reexamination of Analytical Methodology of "To Matins with Father for the First Time" as Presented in High School and University Textbooks

In this chapter the author explains what she believes are the methodological and ethical errors in the analysis of "To Matins with Father for the First Time," published in the textbook, Methodology of the Serbian Language and Teaching of Literature . This analysis is meant as an investigation into the formal characteristics of a literary work, and not as an analysis that ties itself neutrally and scientifically objectively to inter-textual elements of Lazarević's story. While it primarily bases itself on the interpretation of the male characters of the story, this analysis also explains the female character, though inadequately and to a much lesser extent. In this part of the work, the importance of the narrator's comments is also examined. In addition, the consequences of excluding the historical context of the position of women in nineteenth-century Serbian society while analyzing the story are discussed.

Mit akulturowości tekstów nieliterackich na przykładzie literatury z dziedziny psychologii

The language function is one of the criteria for dividing translated texts into literary and non-literary ones. The latter are supposedly acultural, i.e. free from cultural and intertextual references. Such an approach may lead to translation errors. Translators who focus entirely on that branch of knowledge that a given text refers to and on related terminology may overlook cultural and intertextual elements. Th is not only ignores the intention of introducing them into the text, but also changes the meaning of passages in which they are included. The analysis of two books concerning psychology and psychotherapy: Systems of Psychotherapy. A Transtheoretical Analysis and Personality Disorders in Modern Life provides ample examples of introducing implicit references to the Bible and literary masterpieces into psychological discourse. Despite the label of scientific texts, American psychological literature is characterized by numerous hidden quotations from other sources, thus becoming deeply rooted in the intertextual space, in order to allow readers to imagine psychic conditions described. Consequently, in translating such texts, translators cannot limit themselves to a thorough knowledge of psychology, psychotherapy and terminology connected with those areas, but must also be observant enough to notice intertextual traces and then be able to localize them and interpret them correctly. Otherwise the translation may alter the original meaning or introduce ambiguity which is not welcome in such texts.This paper analyses selected examples of intertextuality in psychological literature and their translations. In each case, editorial intervention was required since the lack of recognition of such elements or their incorrect interpretation resulted in various types of translation errors. The conclusion off ered from this discussion is that translators must bear in mind that all texts are of a hybrid nature, and a narrow specialized approach may not guarantee an error-free translation.

Intertextuality and the Translator’s Adjustment to Convey Similar Implicatures

The concept of intertextuality in translation and Translation Studies is one constituent in textuality that should be dealt with importantly during the translation process to deliver the exact meaning of the ST. This is defined as a textual character which has a relationship between a particular text and other texts by sharing characteristics. In the translation process, the translator makes adjustments to deliver implicatures which the author intentionally puts, using expressions which were already used in other texts. The translator's duty to achieve equivalence in the TT in terms of intertextuality is divided into two parts: analysis and adjustment. The translator's first step is analysis to find intertextual elements including intended implicature in the ST. The translator has to have full knowledge of the ST itself, and its circumstantial things, such as its author's other works and another texts written in same language. In addition to analysis, the translator can use several strategies during translation to adjust implicatures, such as complement, literal translation, substitution, and transliteration.

Antike und Christentum

The analysis of the narrative structure in a short story of Heinrich Boll reveals some deeper motivic relations which are interrelated with intertextual elements suggesting the opposition of cultural and moral values to be interpreted in an oscillating reception process.

Transgressive Women, Transworld Women

Transgressive Women, Transworld Women

Intertextuality/Intervisuality in Translation: "The Jolly Postman's" Intercultural Journey from Britain to the Netherlands.

Texts that are intertextually and intervisually rich and highly culture-specific are often deemed to be untranslatable as they are too specifically set in a particular locale. Yet, some intertextual texts, such as Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Jolly Postman books, are rendered quite successfully in translation, gaining a new lease on life in another language with a different audience. Translators are first of all readers of the original text, and it is their interpretation which guides and colours their translation. To deal with the intertextual and culture-specific elements in the source text, the translator of the Jolly Postman books into Dutch uses a variety of translation strategies, such as literal translation for shared intertexts, substitution for intertexts likely to be unknown to the intended target audience, and addition or compensation. In this way he has created Dutch target texts with plenty of opportunities for the readers to forge their own interpretations and play their own intertextual games.

Etica y estética de Morirás lejos de José Emilio Pacheco

This article explores different discourse strategies in Moriras lejos with the purpose of showing how the historical records and diverse inseparable-from fiction intertextual elements are incorporated in the novel of Jose Emilio Pacheco. Por Gustavo Lespada, Moriras lejos more than a compilation or summary of af ew books and documents about the diaspo­ ra and holocaust. In addition to being an elaborate aesthetic product, this novel is an instrument of political analysis still in force which recurs to fascist crimes and to the investigation of history in order to judge the present and to stimulate the use of memory as activity for learning and prevention.

Gesture, Pop Culture, and Intertextuality in the Work of Lea Anderson

Lea Anderson is one of the leading choreographers to have emerged over the past decade, her most characteristic work having been with the all-female group she co-founded, the Cholmondeleys, and its all-male counterpart, the Featherstonehaughs. This article explores the distinctively intertextual elements in Lea Anderson's work – elements which, the authors suggest, make it at once accessible, distinctive, and distinctively postmodern. Sherril Dodds addressed the relationships between postmodernism and popular culture in Anderson's work, with particular focus on the television image and the dance image, in her MA dissertation for the Department of Dance Studies at the University of Surrey, where she is currently a research student. Her co-author, Janet Adshead-Lansdale, is Head of Department at Surrey, and has also edited Dance Analysis: Theory and Practice (1988) and co-edited Dance History: an Introduction (1994).

Lettres de Mistriss Henley publiées par son amie , and: Letters of Mistress Henley Published by Her Friend (review)

REVIEWS 97 Isabelle de Charrière. Lettres deMistriss Henleypubliées par son amie. Ed. Joan Hinde Stewart and Philip Stewart. MLA Texts and Translations. New York: MLA, 1993. xxxi + 45pp. US$3.95. ISBN 0-87352-775-5. Isabelle de Charrière. Letters ofMistress Henley Published by Her Friend. Trans. Philip Stewart and Jean Vaché. MLA Texts and Translations. New York: MLA, 1993. xxix + 42pp. US$3.95. ISBN 0-87352-776-3. The above title is one of two critical editions in the new MLA Texts and Translations twin series publications (the other is the Lettres d'une Péruvienne, reviewed in this issue by David Smith on p. 71). Unlike the conventional treatment of the marriage plot where the heroine is carried off by her Prince Charming into a golden sunset, the Lettres de Mistriss Henley deals with the difficult adjustments encountered after marriage. The heroine's unhappiness— owing to her tyrannical husband, to problems arising from a difficult relationship with the child by his first wife, to her inability to communicate her estrangement in a household foreign to her, and to the resulting self-flagellation—is the thematic core of the novel. Mistriss Henley's sensitivity and martyrdom, provoked by guilt, are contrasted with her husband's self-centredness, closed heart, and autocratic nature. The poignant plot where there are no winners or losers questions the rigidity of social structures, the lack of opportunity for intelligent women, and the irrationality still pervading education even as the Age of Reason draws to a close. The originality of these six letters, where movement and progress depend on an oscillation between the public and private spheres, reflects the modern drama of matrimony. In the critical apparatus are lists of the principal works of Charrière with their dates of publication, and of the many editions of the Lettres de Mistriss Henley that have appeared over the years, including the English translations of the novel. A guide to secondary sources on the novel is also provided. Other valuable information is contained in footnotes of a historical, narratological, interpretative, intertextual, and linguistic nature. The twelve-page introduction (the same for both languages) highlights the genesis of Charrière's novel, which the authors describe as a "literary provocation" in response to the publication of a misogynist novel by Samuel de Constant, Le Mari sentimental. Their succinct comparison of the similar plot of Constant's longer novel with Charrière's treatment of an unhappy marriage demonstrates the different approaches in the novels to the loveless relationship of a couple who enter freely into a union that turns out to be unsuccessful for the woman. The critics' feminist approach to the heroine's domestic life brings out the intertextual elements of Charrière's novel. They might have gone a step further in the analysis of the narration, however, linking late eighteenth-century fiction to the modern novel through the tradition of "le roman sur rien," by showing how Charrière subverts the nihilistic dénouement and its internal message concerning the most important aspect of a female character's life, namely her identity. It is not necessary to give a detailed analysis of the companion English version of Lettres de Mistriss Henley, so ably translated by Philip Stewart and Jean Vaché. The translators have chosen to parallel the style and structure of the source text. Given the clarity and classical simplicity of the original text, this is a wise choice. The translation captures the voice of Mistriss Henley and the more formal style of eighteenth-century writing. Occasionally , however, the "structure for structure" approach results in an English which may strike the modern reader as rather stilted and perhaps clumsy. For example, translating "mais toute la maison ... qu'elle faisait" (p. 13) "structure for structure" results in an unnatural construction in English. Similarly, "if you had objected your own reasons and tastes" (p. 42), although it renders the message of its French equivalent (p. 98 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FICTION 7:1 44), does so in a stilted manner. Although the translators have created a happy balance between eighteenth and twentieth-century usage, it is inevitable that, at times, the English equivalent will fail...