Early modern intertextuality: post structuralism, narrative systems, and 'A midsummer night's dream'

Carter, S. ORCID: 0000-0002-9650-6334, 2016. Early modern intertextuality: post structuralism, narrative systems, and 'A midsummer night's dream'. Literature Compass, 13 (2), pp. 47-57. ISSN 1741-4113

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Abstract

Central to both early modern critical study and the theory of intertextuality are concepts such as the plurality of discourse, the mutually informing relationship between cultural ideologies and texts, and the instability of texts. Following revised critical approaches, this essay argues that there is potential in the direct application and exploration of the theory of intertextuality in early modern literature, particularly in the sense of engagement with and the extensive refiguring of elements from available narrative systems including classical mythology, folklore, and contemporary continental writing through allegory, allusion and translation. Critical consideration of reading, creative imitation, and interpretative variety are central to both fields. This essay argues that these central aspects of early modern creative writing constitute a valid application of intertextual theory, which can be used to generate detailed and multilayered critical readings. It outlines an understanding of intertextuality, demonstrates how the theory is illustrated both in the period and in inherited classical textual theory, and offers a brief applied case study, reading Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595) as an overtly intertextual text.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Literature Compass
Creators: Carter, S.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2016
Volume: 13
Number: 2
ISSN: 1741-4113
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.1111/lic3.12293DOI
Divisions: Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by: Linda Sullivan
Date Added: 23 Jun 2016 08:22
Last Modified: 11 Sep 2018 12:51
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28010

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