Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a sophisticated literary device that benefits from a textual reference within some statements of a text, which reflects again the text used as a reference. Instead of employing referential phrases from different literary works, it draws upon the concept, rhetoric, or ideology from other writings to be merged in the new text. https://literarydevices.net/intertextuality/

Its origin

This term was developed by the poststructuralist Julia Kristeva in the 1960s, and since then it’s been widely accepted by postmodern literary critics and theoreticians. https://thewritepractice.com/intertextuality-as-a-literary-device/

Examples of Intertextuality

Hemingway has based the title of his novel published in 1940 on John Donne's poem XVII Meditation. An excerpt of the poem is usually published under the name "No Man is an Island." The title of the novel has been taken from "And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." Hemingway also incorporates Donne's philosophy into his story with the Spanish civil war as a backdrop. The intertextuality between the two literary pieces has expanded the theme of the novel. https://penlighten.com/understanding-intertextuality-with-examples

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