1.) What Is Hypertext?

ASSIGNMENT IN READING AND WRITING:
1.) What is hypertext?
Hypertext is simply a non-linear way of presenting information. Rather than reading or

learning about things in the order that an author, or editor, or publisher sets out for us, readers
of hypertext may follow their own path, create their own order-- their own meaning out the
material.
Hypertext by its nature is purely a computer construct. It’s a way of providing clickable
links to other sections of a document, or other documents on the internet. It’s the basis of what
we know of as the world wide web, but it started its life as more basic links within a document -
for example clicking on a line in the table of contents would take you to that chapter. It even pre-
dates WYSIWIG and mouse driven interfaces.
2.) Give five examples of hypertext.
1.) The World-Wide Web

-offers thousands of hypertext sites, but many of them are rather mundane and simplistic (usually
on-line version of originally paper information guides). But there are some great exceptions to
this. Here is only a small sampling of what can be done with hypertext:
2.) Shakespeare On-Line
-Every play the Bard ever wrote, interlinked with commentary throughout the site.
3.) Le WebLouvre
-An Online tour of some of the most famous art exhibits in Paris.
4.) The Exploratorium
-San Francisco's famous interactive museum has an excellent on-line site as well.
5.) MendelWeb
-Roger Blumberg of Brown University has put together an amazing hyperarchive on Gregor
Mandel's Experiments in Plant Hybridization, the seminal treatise of genetics. Great for biology
classes, or even for fun.
3.) What are the importance of using hypertext?
Hypertext was important because it presented two fundamental changes in the storage
and retrieval of data. The first was the capability to move rapidly from one part of a document to
another by means of an associative link. The sequential pattern of reading so familiar from the
print world was replaced by a truly interactive format. The second change was the capability of
sharing information across different machines and systems. Hypertext built upon the advances
made in networking to provide transparent access to data regardless of where it was located. In
short, hypertext is about connectivity within and across databases.
4.) What is intertext?
Intertext is putting a text in relation to another text, usually through direct quotes or
references. A book that quotes another book to compare, contrast, or expand on a point is using
intertext.
Intertext is text document which is related to another text document. For example, the
Latin Vulgate version of the Bible is related to the King James Version. Or as another example, Star
Wars: The Force Awakens is intertext to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
5.) What are the different kinds of intertext?
Intertextuality and intertextual relationships can be separated into three types: obligatory,
optional and accidental. These variations depend on two key factors: the intention of the writer,
and the significance of the reference. The distinctions between these types and those differences
between categories are not absolute and exclusive but instead, are manipulated in a way that
allows them to co-exist within the same text.
Obligatory
-Obligatory intertextuality is when the writer deliberately invokes a comparison or association
between two (or more) texts. Without this pre-understanding or success to 'grasp the link', the
reader's understanding of the text is regarded as inadequate. Obligatory intertextuality relies on
the reading or understanding of a prior hypotext, before full comprehension of the hypertext can
be achieved.
As an example, Maria Mitchell analyzes the obligatory intertexuality of Tom Stoppard's

'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' with Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. It is in Hamlet where we
first meet Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and as the plot of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
Dead unravels, specific scenes from Hamlet are actually performed and viewed from a different
perspective. According to Mitchell, this understanding of the hypotext Hamlet, gives deeper
meaning to the pretext as many of the implicit themes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
more recognizable.
Optional
-Optional intertextuality has a less vital impact on the significance of the hypertext. It is a possible,
but not essential, intertextual relationship that if recognized, the connection will slightly shift the
understanding of the text. Optional Intertextuality means it is possible to find a connection to
multiple texts of a single phrase, or no connection at all. The intent of the writer when using
optional intertextuality, is to pay homage to the 'original' writers, or to reward those who have
read the hypotext. However, the reading of this hypotext is not necessary to the understanding of
the hypertext.
The use of optional intertextuality may be something as simple as parallel characters or

plotlines. According to Emily Keller, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series shares many similarities with
J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Keller says that they both apply the use of an aging wizard
mentor (Professor Dumbledore and Gandalf) and a key friendship group is formed to assist the
protagonist (an innocent young boy) on their arduous quest to defeat a powerful wizard and to
destroy a powerful being.
Accidental
-Accidental intertextuality is when readers often connect a text with another text, cultural practice
or a personal experience, without there being any tangible anchorpoint within the original text.
The writer has no intention of making an intertextual reference and it is completely upon the
reader's own prior knowledge that these connections are made. Often when reading a book or
viewing a film a memory will be triggered in the viewers' mind. For example, when reading Herman
Melville's 'Moby Dick', a reader may use his or her prior experiences to make a connection
between the size of the whale and the size of the ship.
6.) Give three examples of intertext.
Example #1: Wide Sargasso Sea (By Jean Rhys)

-In his novel, Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys gathers some events that occurred in Charlotte
Bronte’s Jane Eyre. The purpose is to tell readers an alternative tale. Rhys presents the wife of Mr.
Rochester, who played the role of a secondary character in Jane Eyre. Also, the setting of this novel
is Jamaica, not England, and the author develops the back-story for his major character. While
spinning the novel, Jane Eyre, Rhys gives her interpretation amid the narrative by addressing issues
such as the roles of women, colonization, and racism that Bronte did not point out in her novel
otherwise.
Example #2: A Tempest (By Aime Cesaire)
-Aime Cesaire’s play A Tempest is an adaptation of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. The
author parodies Shakespeare’s play from a post-colonial point of view. Cesaire also changes the
occupations and races of his characters. For example, he transforms the occupation of Prospero,
who was a magician, into a slave-owner, and also changes Ariel into a Mulatto, though he was a
spirit. Cesaire, like Rhys, makes use of a famous work of literature, and put a spin on it in order to
express the themes of power, slavery, and colonialism.
Example #3: Lord of the Flies (By William Golding)
-William Golding, in his novel Lord of the Flies, takes the story implicitly from Treasure Island,
written by Robert Louis Stevenson. However, Golding has utilized the concept of adventures,
which young boys love to do on the isolated island they were stranded on. He, however, changes
the narrative into a cautionary tale, rejecting the glorified stories of Stevenson concerning
exploration and swash buckling. Instead, Golding grounds this novel in bitter realism by
demonstrating negative implications of savagery and fighting that could take control of human
hearts, because characters have lost the idea of civilization.

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ASSIGNMENT IN READING AND WRITING:

1.) What is hypertext?

Hypertext is simply a non-linear way of presenting information. Rather than reading or

2.) Give five examples of hypertext.

1.) The World-Wide Web

3.) What are the importance of using hypertext?

4.) What is intertext?

5.) What are the different kinds of intertext?

As an example, Maria Mitchell analyzes the obligatory intertexuality of Tom Stoppard's

The use of optional intertextuality may be something as simple as parallel characters or

6.) Give three examples of intertext.

Example #1: Wide Sargasso Sea (By Jean Rhys)

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