Area of Exploration (AoE):

Intertextuality

The term “intertextuality” comes from the Latin word meaning to “interweave.” Therefore, an
intertextual approach to literature is constantly making connections and exploring dialogue
that takes place between texts across time and space. No text exists in a vacuum—all novels,
plays, and poems are connected to other texts and rely on the style and content of previous
works. A main goal of this course is to recognize the common conventions used amongst
genres of literature and to make thematic connections that authors discuss and evolve over
time.

INQUIRY QUESTIONS:

1. How do literary texts adhere to and deviate from conventions associated with literary

forms or genres?

2. How do conventions and systems of reference evolve over time?

3. In what ways can diverse literary texts share points of similarity?

4. How valid is the notion of a “classic” literary text?

5. How can literary texts offer multiple perspectives of a single issue, topic or theme?

6. In what ways can comparison and interpretation be transformative?

Similarities of Texts:

Texts often share points of similarity, for they are in deliberate conversation with each
other, making reference to previous texts, quoting each other, and exploring some of the
perennial issues, joy, and problems that humans face. By looking at texts which interact in
such ways, we will see how relatively diverse traditions respond to each other, both
acknowledging the skills and psychological depth of preceding texts, but always aiming to
“rewrite” them: to forge from them new messages for new moments and generations in
history.

Directions: Review the following three paintings on the Painting Comparison document,
infer the theme/main idea of each picture, and then reflect on how the progression directly
displays the concept of intertextuality.
Analysis Activity:​ ​Painting Comparison

THEME of ​Christina’s World​ by Andrew Wyeth:

THEME of ​Tania’s World,​ by Rolling Stone Magazine:

 THEME of ​Donald’s World​ by MAD Magazine:

Reflection:

Then, in 4-5 sentences, discuss TWO different texts read within your high school academic
career (English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, and IB HL 1) that represent intertextuality on a
literary level:

Defining the “Classic” Text:

Academics of the field often debate what makes a text a classical piece of literature.
However, some of the universally accepted qualities include: standing the test of time,
being read by enough people, and receiving an appropriate level of critical appreciation.

Yet, in the modern era, many criticize the fact that the “canonical” texts that have been
universally accepted as classical literature are overwhelmingly written by ​dead, white,
European males​ (or DWEM’s). Due to female and minority oppressions throughout the past
centuries, the production of skilled and accepted literature has been limited to the
stereotypical, educated man, leaving the classics very limited in culture and perspective.
Therefore, Italian novelist and critic, Italo Calvino, suggests this comprehensive list when
deciding if a piece of literature should be viewed as “classical”:

Review the list below, highlighting the characteristics that you agree with and annotating
reasons to support your opinion:

1. The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: “I’m
re-reading…” instead of: “I’m reading…”
2. The classics are those books that constitute a treasured experience for those who have
read and loved them.
3. The classics are books that exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint
themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and when they hide in the layers of
memory disguised as the individual’s or the collective unconscious.
4. A classic is a book that, even when we are reading it for the first time, it gives us the
sense of re-reading something we have read before.
5. A classic is a book that with each re-reading, it offers as much of a sense of discovery as
the first reading.
6. A classic is a book that has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers.
7. The classics are the books that come to us bearing the aura of previous interpretations,
and trailing behind them the traces they have left in the culture(s) through which they have
passed.
8. A classic is a work that constantly generates a pulviscular cloud of critical discourse
around it, but which always shakes the particles off.
9. Classics are books that, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more
original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.
10. A classic is a term given to any book that comes to represent the whole universe, a book
on par with ancient talismans.
11. “Your” classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and which helps you
define yourself in relation to or even in opposition to it.
12. A classic is a work that comes before other classics, but those who have read other
classics first immediately recognize its place in the genealogy of classic works.
13. A classic is a work that relegates noise of the present to the background hum, which at
the same time the classics cannot exist without.
14. A classic is a work that persists as a background noise, even when a present that is
totally incompatible with it holds sway.

Apart from the list above, explain two or three characteristics that you personally believe
should define the concept of “classical” literature:

Possible Links to TOK:

Links to TOK in this area are related to the question of how the interaction of a text with other
texts, brought about explicitly by the author or established by the reader in the act of
reception, influence the perception of them and their meaning.

· What are the boundaries between a literary text and a non-literary text, and
how are these boundaries determined?
· What kind of knowledge about a text is gained when compared and contrasted
with other texts?
· Does knowledge of conventions of form, text type and of literary and rhetorical
techniques allow for a better and deeper understanding of a text?
· How are judgments made about the merit of a text? What makes a text better
than others?
· Is the study of texts better approached by means of a temporal perspective,
grouping texts according to when they were written, or by means of a thematic
approach, grouping them according to the theme or concern they share?
· What impact does each one of them have on knowledge of the discipline?
· How useful are classifications of texts according to form, text type and period?
· How do they contribute to the understanding of communication and its
development?