READING AND
WRITING
WEEK 5
CONTEXT VS.
01 TEXT
02 INTERTEXTUALITY
03 HYPERTEXT
Contents of This Template
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the student should be
able to:
a. Differentiate context and a text;
b. Familiarize with the different techniques in
analyzing the context of a text development
and;
c. Illustrate different examples of intertextuality
and hypertext.
LESSON 5: IDENTIFYING THE
CONTEXT OF TEXT
DEVELOPMENT
A text is
neither written
nor read in a
vacuum: its
meaning and
interpretation
are affected by
a given set of
TEXT
is understood is any stretch
to be a piece of of language
written or that can be
spoken material understood in
in its primary context.
form (as
opposed to a
paraphrase or
summary).
In the past, texts were
EXAMPLES: usually presented as
printed matter in bound
volumes such as
If you were talking pamphlets or books.
about the text of Today, however, people
"Don Quixote," are more likely to
you would be encounter texts in digital
referring to the space, where the
words in the book, materials are becoming
"more fluid," according to
not the physical
linguists David Barton
book itself. and Carmen Lee.
Thus, context is
defined as the
social, cultural,
political, historical,
and other related
circumstances that
surround the text
and form the terms
from which it can
be better
understood and
Knowledge of the text’s context helps in
appreciating the text’s message more
deeply. In discovering a reading’s context,
you may ask questions like:
When was the work written?
What were the circumstances
that produced it?
What issues does it deal with?
How does context
help us interpret a
text?
INTERTEXTUALITY
Is the modeling of a text’s
meaning by another text. It is
defined as the connections
between language, images,
characters, themes, or
subjects depending on their
similarities in language, genre,
This is seen when
an author borrows
and transforms a
prior text, or when
you read one text
and you reference
another. This view
recognizes that the
text is always
influenced by
previous text and
For instance, the
local legend of
folk hero
Bernardo Carpio.
Many versions of
his tale exist, but
local folklore says
he is a giant who
is the cause of
earthquakes.
In Greek
mythology, there
is also Poseidon,
who is the god of
the sea and
earthquakes.
Many cultures
also attribute
natural disasters
Intertextuality is also seen in the story of
“Tall Story” by Candy Gourlay. This is the
story of a British-Filipina teenager who
meets Bernardo, her long-lost half-
brother. Bernardo turns out to be eight
feet tall and suffers from gigantism.
However, the people from his village
believe he is the legendary giant who has
come to save everyone from earthquakes.
The inspiration of the
Bernardo Carpio myth
is clear in this story and
creatively updated to
make it more appealing
to modern and foreign
audiences.
Another example of
intertextuality is Gregory
Maguire's novel Wicked.
The novel was inspired by
L. Frank Baum's 1939
novel The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz.
Another example of intertextuality
is Arthur Laurent's West Side
Story. Laurent was inspired to
write West Side Story by William
Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo
and Juliet. There are similarities
between Romeo and Juliet and
Maria and Tony. Both Maria and
Juliet have been forbidden to love
the man they desire to love. Both
novels end tragically for the
historical "star-crossed lovers."
One final example of intertextuality is
any literary text which adopted for film.
Any filmatic adaptation which has been
influenced by an original literary text is
an example of intertextuality. The
original text is read, interpreted, defined
and adapted according to the allocated
meaning by the writer.
Many examples of
this exist: Kenneth
Branagh's adaptation
of Mary
Shelley's Frankenstei
n, Neil Jordan's
adaptation of Anne
Rice's Interview With
a Vampire, and Elia
Kazan's adaptation of
Tennessee Williams'
Meanwhile, HYPERTEXT is
a relatively new way of
reading a text online.
Traditionally, reading was
viewed as a linear process,
where you read from the
beginning until the end.
However, the advent of the
Internet and technology
has created new ways of
reading and processing a
HYPERTEXT
is a nonlinear way of
showing information.
Hypertext connects
topics on a screen to
related information,
graphics, videos, and
music – information is not
simply related to text.
This information appears
as links and is usually
The reader can jump to
more information about a
topic, which in turn may
have more links. This
opens up the reader to a
wider horizon of
information or to a new
direction.
For example, you are doing research
about the Philippine Eagle. A quick
Google search would lead you to a
Wikipedia article on it. Information on it
would include a picture and a brief,
written description. While reading
about the Philippine eagle, you will also
encounter links to its conservation
status. This may lead you to more
information about conservation efforts.
However, if you were interested in the
appearance of the Philippine eagle
because you wanted to sketch it for
your art class, the same page would
provide its physical description and
even give you links to pictures and
videos of the Philippine eagle. Thus,
depending on your purpose and
interests, the article on the Philippine
eagle could lead you to a variety of
REFERENCES:
Marella Therese A. Tiongson, [Link]. Reading and Writing
Skills. REX Book Store, Inc. 84-86 P. Florentino St., Sta.
Mesa Heights, Quezon City. P. 22-23
Text and Context Connection.
[Link]
s
.
Intertext and Hypertext.
[Link]
(Retrieved from June 26,2020)