intertextuality

Theory in literary criticism that draws attention to the interdependence of literary texts.

As part of a movement stemming from the work of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, known as deconstruction, the principles of intertextuality are as thoroughly demonstrated in the critical writings of its advocates as in the literary works they discuss. Behind assertions of intertextuality lies the more general theory that authors cannot achieve a ‘closure’ of their writings as self-contained artefacts in the manner assumed by much traditional literary criticism.