intertextuality

[in-ter-teks-choo-al-i-tee]

noun

1. the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other.

   the intertextuality between two novels with the same setting.

Other Word Forms

• intertextual adjective
• intertextually adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of intertextuality¹

1970–75; < French intertextualité < inter- inter- + textuel textual + -ité -ity

Example Sentences

“As much as I love ‘The Simpsons’ and I think ‘The Simpsons’ is really important, I think ‘South Park’ has definitely done things that ‘The Simpsons’ haven’t,” says Dr. Jonathan Gray, a media and cultural studies professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose books include “Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality.”

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A certain amount of winking intertextuality has been part of cartoons almost since their inception: The Looney Tunes short “Racketeer Rabbit,” released in 1946, features animated caricatures of Warner Bros. contract stars Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre .

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This intertextuality proved a challenge for the translator Carlos Rojas, a professor at Duke who also translated Yan’s “The Four Books,” a novel about intellectuals at a re-education camp during Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.

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That intertextuality extends to “Drivers License’s” production, which is quieter and more nuanced than in the teen melodrama of years past.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It’s a novel fizzing with ideas, one that toys with timelines and intertextuality.

Read more on New York Times

When To Use

What does intertextuality mean?

Intertextuality refers to the way that works of art, especially literature, are related and influence each other.Text, in this context, most often refers to a work of literature, like a book or poem, but it can be any creative work, such as a film, song, painting, or speech. Intertextuality often involves things like the similarities and differences between two pieces, but it can also cover a broad range of relationships between different works. Intertextuality is primarily used in literary and cultural criticism and analysis.Example: In this class, we’ll examine the intertextuality between Hamlet and The Lion King.