intertextual

Intertextual describes phenomena in which a text bears relation to other texts through references, echoes, borrowings, or stylistic allusions. The term is closely associated with intertextuality, a concept used in literary theory to explain how meaning arises in a text from its connections to other works, genres, and cultural discourses.

Origins lie in the work of Julia Kristeva in the 1960s, drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogism. Kristeva argued that texts are inherently interwoven with others and that writers continually rewrite, quote, and reframe prior materials. The concept has since been applied across literature, film, music, and digital media.

Intertextual techniques include direct quotation, explicit allusion, stylistic pastiche, parody, quotation of genre conventions, and adaptation or sampling. Readers or viewers recognize these cues and fill in meaning by drawing on their knowledge of referenced works. Intertextuality can be deliberate or implicit and may operate at the level of narrative, theme, form, or language.

Functions include signaling genre, offering critique, enriching interpretation, or creating humor. By situating a text within a wider cultural conversation, intertextuality can foreground reception, authorial influence, or cultural memory, while complicating notions of originality and authorship.

Examples include James Joyce's Ulysses, which borrows from Homer; T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, rich with literary allusions; and modern films, music videos, and memes that remix established motifs. In contemporary media, intertextuality extends to fan works and cross-media references.

Scholars note that intertextuality challenges simple causality of influence and can blur boundaries between homage, parody, and plagiarism. Critics caution against overreading references, while others emphasize the political and cultural functions of intertextual networks.