Chapter 5: Intertextuality

Foster's Ideas

"Part of pattern recognition is talent, but a whole lot of it is practice: if you read enough thought, you begin to see patterns, archetypes, recurrences. And as with those pictures among the dots, it's a matter of learning to look. Not just to look but where to look, and how to look. Literature, as the great Canadian critic Northrop Frye observed, grows out of other literature; we should not be surprised to find, then, that it also looks like other literature. As you read, it may pay to remember this: there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature." (pg 29)

This last sentence characterizes the intentions behind the next four chapters in the book. Foster proves to the reader that literature stems off older literature. He starts by talking about Shakespeare and how authors use his works for credibility and a connection that most readers can make. He then continues on to talk about biblical aspects of literature as well as fairy tales and myths. By bringing into perspective the multiple choices an author has for "outside information" he shows that literature is all interconnected. Sometimes authors start out with original ideas and use an example from another text as a different perspective but other times authors go into writing with the purpose of altering a well known story so that the reader may see the events differently.

This quote from the text fits in perfectly with Foster's idea of intertextuality. He believes that every time a new piece of writing is read it is entered into (as Foster would say) a "barrel of eels." In this aspect everything is connected, so that every piece of literature in some way or another has something in common.

Foster furthers his discussion by saying that all of literature is part of "one story." He is saying that everything that has ever been read, or written, or told combines to create what we know as literature. Although it may seem like every book is different, between personal connections and intertextuality they are more alike than first recognized.

The quote that was taken from the text can be inferred as saying whenever you read a book remember all the books you have read before it and all of the books you will read after it because in some way or another they are related. If a reader can remember this tip then it may help to make more personal connections with the text or other texts to come. This not only helps readers to remember certain characters or quotes from other books but it may also help establish the writer's tone with connection to others. If two stories share a similar story line then (a) one author may have used the other book for credibility or (b) they may share similar writing styles and approach internal conflict or resolutions within a novel the same way.

His idea of intertextuality gives the reader a better understanding of literature as a whole instead of individual novels or writings.