![]() In Hamlet, said uncle marries his brother’s widow in The Lion King, Sarabi doesn’t appear to take up with Scar-but we know that in the real wild, there’s only one male in a pride, and he mates with any females that are able to reproduce, so… sorry to ruin your childhood!Īlso in both tales, after the evil uncles have pushed them into exile, the protagonists see their murdered fathers as ghosts who deliver important messages. Although not a tragedy, the animated film certainly borrows a lot of its plot points from the 1603 play.įor starters, both protagonists have evil, fratricidal uncles who want to take the throne. ![]() The Lion King and Hamletĭisney’s The Lion King was heavily influenced by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. What Are Examples of Intertextuality?īelow are 3 examples of intertextuality between twentieth-century works and much older texts. ![]() This is the intertextuality that theorists like Kristeva would say is unavoidable whatever you create, it’s bound to be influenced in some way by something you’ve read, seen, or heard before. The reader’s own prior knowledge is what bridges two works together. Latent intertextuality is when references and connections occur incidentally, without the writer making a conscious effort to connect them. In such cases, without understanding the references, readers cannot fully grasp the intended meaning of the text. Latent Intertextualityĭeliberate intertextuality intentionally borrows from other texts, usually through allusions, parody, or symbolism. But intertextuality encompasses much more than just direct quotes-it can include everything from translation, to allegory, allusion, or parody. ![]() Examples can be found even in the Bible, as New Testament passages quote from and refer to Old Testament passages. While the theory is relatively new, the device itself is not. (Many times the writer isn’t even aware of the connection!) Literary critic and philosopher Julia Kristeva first coined the term “intertextuality” in the 1960s to describe the interconnection between similar or related texts, and how those connections shape an audience’s interpretations, whether they realize it or not. The theory of intertextuality states that all works of literature are influenced in some way by previous works no text is completely unique or original. The same can be said about song lyrics, compositions, and pretty much all works of art or inventions. This literary déjà vu is known as intertextuality, and in this post, we’ll explain where that familiarity comes from, why it’s important in literature, and why you can’t really avoid it. But the point is that I picked up on this connection without that prior knowledge (and it’s not like the setting, premise, or much of the plot details were exactly the same). Of course, a quick Google search would have told me that Apocalypse Now is in fact partially based on Conrad’s novel. Maybe it’s not smack-you-in-the-face obvious, but something about the themes, characters, or maybe even certain quotes just seems reminiscent of other works you’ve come across before.įor me, this feeling hit when I was halfway through Heart of Darkness in high school, and I started thinking: Reading this feels a lot like watching Apocalypse Now. Have you ever paused halfway through a novel or film, and thought to yourself: Something about this feels very familiar.
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