Analyzing Text

Learning Objectives

To identify the context in which a text

was developed
To be familiar with two important tech
niques in analyzing the context of a t
ext’s development: intertextuality and
hypertext
Key Understanding
 Intertextuality and hypertext are two additional
techniques in analyzing context of a written
material that will help you better understand
and, if necessary, evaluate the material.

Key Question
 How does intertextuality and hypertext help in
analyzing the context of a text’s development?
What Is Context?

Context is the social, cultural, political,

historical, and other related
circumstances that surround the
text and form the terms from which it
can be better understood and
evaluated.
Questions that May Help in Disco
vering a Reading’s Context

 When was the work written?

 What were the circumstances that produced it?

 What issues does it deal with?

Intertextuality
 The modeling of a text’s meaning by another text

 The connections between language, images,

characters, themes, or subjects depending on their
similarities in language, genre, or discourse

 Seen when an author borrows and transforms a

prior text, or when one text references another

 A dialogue among different texts and interpretations

of the writer, the audience, and the current and
earlier cultural contexts
Intertextuality
SOME COMMON EXAMPLES

 The inspiration of the Bernardo Carpio myth is clear

in Candy Gourlay’s Tall Story, a story about a
British-Filipina teenager who meets Bernardo, her
long-lost half-brother who stands eight feet tall and
suffers from gigantism.

 The widely-popular The Lord of the Rings trilogy by

J.R.R. Tolkien were influenced in large part by many
figures and events in the Bible, as well as by the
Germanic poetry Beowulf, and some Norse and
Finnish myths.
Hypertext
 A non-linear way of showing information

 Connects topics on a screen to related pieces of

information, graphics, videos, or music, which
appear as links and are usually accessed by clicking

 Allows reader to jump to more information about a

topic, which, in turn may have more links

 Gives reader more flexibility and personalization

because he/she gets to select the order in which
he/she reads the text and focus on information that
is relevant to his/her background and interests
Hypertext
SAMPLE TEXT WITH HYPERTEXT TAKEN FROM
WIKIPEDIA.COM

Inside Out is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated

comedy-drama adventure film[6] produced by Pixar and released by
Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and co-written by Pete Docter, the
film is set in the mind of a young girl, Riley Andersen (Kaitlyn
Dias), where five personified emotions—Joy (Amy Poehler),
Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black),
and Disgust (Mindy Kaling)—try to lead her through life as her
parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) move the family to a
new city. The film was co-directed and co-written by
Ronnie del Carmen and produced by Jonas Rivera, with music
composed by Michael Giacchino.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Out_%282015_film%29
 Activity
1. Many cases of intertextuality involve Christian stories
and beliefs. Among the more popular examples are The
Chronicles of Narnia series written by C.S. Lewis. Cho
ose one book among the seven novels and identify cha
racters or events in the story that allude to characters
or stories in the Bible.

2. Visit Wikipedia.com. In the search bar, type a subject t

hat interests you. When you have reached the page of t
he subject you are searching for, check out the highlig
hted words that will lead you to additional pieces of inf
ormation on the subject. Click and explore.