INTERTEXT

Quarter 3: Module 4.2

Intertext Defined
Intertext or intertextuality is
technically defined as a process of
text development that merges two
more processes such as imitation
and creation in doing a text.
Intertext Defined
It involves imitation because the author as
highly influenced by another author comes
up with his own version of the text
consciously or unconsciously incorporating
the style and other characteristics of the
text done by that author.
Elaboration on Intertextuality
Intertextuality has rooted from the work
of a Swiss linguist Ferdinand de
Saussure (1857-1913). Meanwhile, the
term itself was first used by Bulgarian-
French philosopher and psychoanalyst
Julia Kristeva in the 1960s.
Example
Fan fiction is a great example of deliberate
intertextuality. In fan fiction, authors enter the fictional
worlds of other authors and create their own stories. For
example, a Lord of the Rings fan fiction might tell the 
story of minor characters or add new characters to the
world of Middle Earth. Sometimes, fan fiction becomes
extremely successful in its own right – 50 Shades of
Grey was originally written as Twilight fan fiction.
Example
Martin Luther King’s writing was heavily
influenced by the work of Mohandas Gandhi,
especially in the area of nonviolent resistance.
Much of this intertextuality was deliberate, with
King explicitly crediting Gandhi as one of his
influences. Scholars, however, have debated
whether there might have been other aspects of
Gandhi’s writing, such as his aesthetic style, that
also influenced King in a more latent way.
Intertextuality is said to take
place using four specific
methods namely: retelling,
pastiche, quotation, and
allusion.
 Retelling
It is the restatement of a
story or re-expression of
a narrative.
 Example
James Joyce’s Ulysses was a deliberate retelling of
Homer’s Odyssey, but transplanted out of ancient
Greece into modern-day Dublin. The various chapters
in Joyce’s novel correspond to the adventures of
Odysseus in Homer’s epic poem. For Joyce, the point
of this deliberate intertextuality was to show that
ordinary people can experience something heroic in
their everyday lives.
 Quotation
It is the method of directly
lifting the exact statements
or set of words from a text
another author has made.
 Example
In Margaret Atwood’s speech, Spotty
Handed Villainess, she quotes Dame
Rebecca West, saying. “Ladies of
Great Britain…we have not enough
evil in us.”
 Allusion
In this method, a writer or
speaker explicitly or implicitly
pertains to an idea or passage
found in another text without the
use of quotation.
 Example

An example of that is a passage in T.S. Eliot’s

poem The Waste Land. He describes a
prostitute sitting in her boudoir, ready to
entertain a man. At first glance the passage
looks like Enobarbus’ description of Cleopatra
in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
 Example
"She's a good swimmer, but she's no Ariel.“

This allusion is to the fairy tale (and famous Disney movie)

"The Little Mermaid" about a mermaid named Ariel.
Referring to someone as "no Ariel" implies that they're not
as natural in the water as a mermaid would be.
 Example
• Garden of Eden — Used to discuss paradise, beauty, and/or downfall

• Noah/Noah's Ark — Used to talk about big or nearly impossible tasks

• David and Goliath — Describes a battle or face-off between two in which

the weaker one, or underdog, might actually have a better shot at winning

• Tower of Babel — Often used to describe the crumbling or tragic end of

something
 Example
• Hercules (or Herculean) — Often used to emphasize
strength

• Pandora's Box — Describes big (and usually unexpected)

consequences or a possible source of trouble

• Cupid — God of love; used to describe someone romantic

or in love
 Pastiche
It is a text developed in a way
that it copies the style or other
properties of another text without
making fun of it unlike in a
parody.
 Example
Pastiche is extremely common in music, as musicians
must constantly try out new styles in order to keep their
sound from getting stale. A few examples include
Queen’s “Thing Called Love” (a pastiche of Elvis
Presley), and the song “Eternal Rains” by Opeth (in
which the death metal band imitates a prog rock sound
from the 1970s). Hip-hop frequently employs a broad
pastiche of jazz, blues, and R&B sounds.
 Example

Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films are a

simultaneous pastiche of two genres: westerns
and kung fu movies. In these films, the camera
techniques and dialogue are highly reminiscent of
these two classic genres, and the creativity of the
movie comes from mixing the disparate genres 
together.
 Example

• Pastiche is used constantly in animated television

shows like South Park and The Simpsons. For
example, there is an episode of South Park that
is animated almost entirely in the style of the
classic Scooby-Doo cartoons, and another that
uses an anime style. The plotlines of these
episodes also mimic the same genres.
 PARODY
A parody is a work that’s created by
imitating an existing original work in order
to make fun of or comment on an aspect
of the original. Parodies can target
celebrities, politicians, authors, a style or
trend, or any other interesting subject.
 PARODY
The term parody (pronounced par--uh-
dee) is derived from the Greek
phrase parodia which referred to a type
of poem which imitated the style of epic
poems but with mockery and light
comedy.
Example
Your little sister puts on your father’s big shoes
and stomps around in them, saying, “I need to
make a business call. I am a very busy, very
important businessman!”

In this example, the girl is parodying her own father who she knows
works as a businessman. She is making the comment that the image
many businesspeople have is overly serious and self-important.
Example
At the talent show, a group of boys wears
matching outfits and prances around singing
One Direction’s “Best Song Ever.” They sing
very poorly and overly dramatically.

Here, the boys are parodying a popular band by imitating the

way they dress, sing, and perform in a comedic way,
commenting on the low talent level of many pop stars.
Example
Your friend Kelly is known for chewing gum all the
time. Looking at her, you begin stuffing gum in
your mouth and chewing very loudly, saying, “Hi!
I’m Kelly! Do you have any extra gum? I could
really use some more.”

In joking with a friend, you are parodying her gum-chewing

habit by imitating and hyperbolizing it in a comedic way.
 Pastiche vs. Parody
Both forms of intertextuality rely on existing
entities, but parody pokes fun while pastiche pays
homage. Parody aims to make gentle fun of
trends, people, and events. Pastiche creates work
in the spirit of previous art, borrowing elements of
a known genre or style that are recognizable to
viewers and audiences.
 ADAPTATION
Adaptation is taking a book’s plot
and using the same characters
and ideas to create a movie or
film.
 ADAPTATION
Authors of adaptations revise an
earlier work; these revisions can be
from book to book, from book to play,
from play to film, from poem to
movie. 
 EXAMPLE
Steven Pressfield’s novel The Legend of Bagger Vance,
which was adapted into a movie starring Will Smith,
was originally written as a re-telling of the Hindu
epic Bhagavad Gita – the name “Bagger Vance” is
supposed to sound like “Bhagavad.” In the original
Hindu epic, the god Krishna discusses the importance
of enlightenment and warrior virtues with Prince Arjuna
– the novel/movie transplants this ancient story onto the
links of a golf course.
 CALQUE
A calque is a word for word, direct
translation from one language to another
that may or may not change the meaning
slightly. These are always obligatory or
optional.
 EXAMPLE
For example; Beer Garden is a calque of the
German Biergarten, and Adam's Apple is a
calque of the French pomme d'Adam. In both
these examples, English phrases are derived
from a direct literal translation of the original.
 WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
Recognising and understanding
intertextuality leads to a much richer
reading experience which invites
new interpretations as it brings
another context, idea, story into the
text at hand.
 WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
As new layers of meaning are
introduced, there is pleasure in
the sense of connection and the
continuity of texts and of
cultures.
 WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
These connections mean that a
responder is engaging with a
broader literary heritage than just a
discrete text.  Intertextuality also
invites us to revisit the earlier text,
often with new insights into its
meaning for our time.
 WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
Intertextuality also raises questions about
nature of authorship and originality as texts
may be seen as ‘composed’ from pre-
existing elements rather than ‘created’. It
also provides one way for students to
compose their own texts drawn from their
knowledge of others.
Read and answer the
question.
1. The new text that is formed using intertext has
_____________ borrowed or imitated from the
original text.
A. location
B. language
C. context
D. time
1. The new text that is formed using intertext has
_____________ borrowed or imitated from the
original text.
A. location
B. language
C. context
D. time
2. Which of the following does not
allow intertextuality to occur?
A. allusion
B. originality
C. quotation
D. retelling
2. Which of the following does not
allow intertextuality to occur?
A. allusion
B. originality
C. quotation
D. retelling
3. Who coined the term ‘intertextuality’ in
1960s? A. Ferdinand de Saussure
B. Laurent Jenny
C. Julia Kristeva
D. Graham Allen
3. Who coined the term ‘intertextuality’ in
1960s? A. Ferdinand de Saussure
B. Laurent Jenny
C. Julia Kristeva
D. Graham Allen
4. It is a text developed in a way that copies the
style or other properties of another text without
making fun of it unlike a parody.
A. allusion
B. pastiche
C. quotation
D. retelling
4. It is a text developed in a way that copies the
style or other properties of another text without
making fun of it unlike a parody.
A. allusion
B. pastiche
C. quotation
D. retelling
5. This method of text development allows writers
to produce texts with borrowed ideas from other
writers.
A. hypertext
B. intertext
C. context
D. concept
5. This method of text development allows writers
to produce texts with borrowed ideas from other
writers.
A. hypertext
B. intertext
C. context
D. concept
6. This relationship between or among texts
happens when a writer or speaker explicitly or
implicitly pertains to an idea or passage found in
another text without the use of quotation.
A. allusion
B. Pastiche
C. quotation
D. retelling
6. This relationship between or among texts
happens when a writer or speaker explicitly or
implicitly pertains to an idea or passage found in
another text without the use of quotation.
A. allusion
B. Pastiche
C. quotation
D. retelling
7. It is the method of directly lifting the exact
statements or set of words from a text another
author has made.
A. allusion
B. pastiche
C. Quotation
D. retelling
7. It is the method of directly lifting the exact
statements or set of words from a text another
author has made.
A. allusion
B. pastiche
C. Quotation
D. retelling
8. Norse mythology of Europe was the
inspiration of Victor Magtanggol, an
action-fantasy series of GMA Network.
What text development was used in
crafting this story?
A. hyperlink B. intertext
C. analysis D. context
8. Norse mythology of Europe was the
inspiration of Victor Magtanggol, an
action-fantasy series of GMA Network.
What text development was used in
crafting this story?
A. hyperlink B. intertext
C. analysis D. context
9. It is one form of intertextuality that
utilizes the process of restatement of
a story or re-expression of a
narrative.
A. allusion B. pastiche
C. quotation D. retelling
9. It is one form of intertextuality that
utilizes the process of restatement of
a story or re-expression of a
narrative.
A. allusion B. pastiche
C. quotation D. retelling
10. James Joyce used the modern
context of The Odyssey in his very
famous novel Ulysses. It is an
example of a/an________________.
A. hyperlink B. intertext
C. analysis D. context
10. James Joyce used the modern
context of The Odyssey in his very
famous novel Ulysses. It is an
example of a/an________________.
A. hyperlink B. intertext
C. analysis D. context