Introduction to Intertextual Relationships

Relevance of the Theme

Intertextual Relationships: a domain of the language and literature universe that is often at work, but almost always invisible. The ability to identify, analyze, and understand the complexity of these relationships is crucial for a deep understanding of texts and, by extension, the world around us.

• Relevance in Portuguese: The study of intertextual relationships broadens students' horizons when it comes to interpreting texts, whether literary, advertising, journalistic, or academic. This is because through intertextual relationships, texts interconnect, reference each other, and mutually influence each other, bringing a broader and more complex understanding of language and its manifestations.

• Motivation: The study of intertextual relationships is an invitation to a journey through diverse texts and cultures, providing a unique and enriched perspective on life and society. The ability to identify and understand intertextual relationships also sharpens our critical awareness, allowing us to recognize manipulations, satires, ironies, and other rhetorical strategies commonly used in everyday language.

Contextualization

• Curricular Insertion: The theme 'Intertextual Relationships' is a fundamental piece in the Portuguese curriculum of high school, as it is directly linked to text interpretation skills. Understanding the relationships that texts establish with each other helps to unveil hidden meanings, broaden cultural and literary repertoire, and enhance students' writing skills.

• Thematic Continuity: The study of intertextual relationships is directly connected to other contents of the discipline, such as the analysis of textual genres, literary interpretation, and grammar. This is because, to properly understand a text, it is necessary to consider not only what is written, but also the connections it establishes with other texts, whether explicit or implicit.

• Interdisciplinary Perspective: In addition to its vital role in the study of the Portuguese language, intertextual relationships also have implications in other disciplines, such as literature, history, and sociology. By analyzing how different texts reference and influence each other, we are actually investigating broader cultural, political, and social phenomena.

Therefore, the ability to identify, understand, and analyze intertextual relationships is an essential tool for first-year high school Portuguese students, and a key component in developing critical and interpretative reading skills, as well as a better appreciation of linguistic and literary nuances.

Theoretical Development

Components

• Concept of Intertextuality: At the core of intertextual relationships, intertextuality is the relationship that a text establishes with other texts, whether by the same author or not. It is in intertextuality that meanings are constructed and expanded, influences and reverberations occur. Intertextuality can manifest in various forms, such as quotations, parodies, allusions, among others.

• Types of Intertextuality: Various scholars identify different types of intertextuality, each with its nuances and particularities. However, the focus of this topic will be on three of them: general intertextuality, thematic intertextuality, and stylistic intertextuality.

  • General Intertextuality: Concerns the relationship that a text establishes with other texts of culture, without necessarily citing them. It is a broader type of intertextuality, which manifests, for example, in the repetition of themes, styles, or narrative structures.

  • Thematic Intertextuality: Refers to explicit citations or allusions to other texts. It consists of the direct use of elements from one text in another, clearly referring to the original work.

  • Stylistic Intertextuality: Focuses on the imitation or parody of the style of another author or text. Here, what is established is a similarity in language, rhythm, structure, among others, that refers to a pre-existing text.

• Examples of Intertextual Relationships: We will analyze practical examples of intertextual relationships in literary and non-literary texts, identifying the types of intertextuality present and discussing the impact of these relationships on the construction of meanings.

Key Terms

• Intertextuality: It is the relationship that a text establishes with other texts, whether by the same author or not. It is a silent, yet continuous, conversation among writers, texts, and readers.

• General Intertextuality: Occurs when there is a repetition of themes, styles, or narrative structures, without necessarily citing the original text.

• Thematic Intertextuality: Occurs when there is a direct reference to another text, either through a quotation or explicit allusion.

• Stylistic Intertextuality: Consists of the imitation or parody of the style of another author or text.

Examples and Cases

• Dom Casmurro and Eça de Queirós: Machado de Assis, in his book Dom Casmurro, establishes an intense intertextuality with Eça de Queirós' work, The Maias. Both narratives address the theme of adultery and present male characters in search of their origins. This thematic intertextuality helps enrich the discussion about the human condition and morality.

• Advertising and Art: Advertising is a fertile field for intertextual relationships. Many ads make use of references to works of art, films, books, among others. These intertextual relationships often aim to convey a subliminal message, taking advantage of the audience's familiarity with the original work.

• Music and Literature: The intertextuality between music and literature is one of the most popular and accessible. Many songs make direct references to literary works, citing character names, verses, among others. Similarly, literature also appropriates excerpts from songs to enrich the plot or evoke certain emotions.

These examples illustrate the rich and complex tapestry of intertextuality, showing how this practice is ubiquitously present in our daily lives and in all forms of artistic and linguistic expression. Its identification and understanding are essential for a critical and in-depth reading of any type of text. Through the understanding of these examples, the student will be prepared to face the challenges and wonders of the intertextual universe.

Always remembering that 'A text is not built alone, nor destroyed; it is the result of a combination of previous texts and co-texts, with which it establishes, thanks to intertextuality, more or less visible relationships'. Julia Kristeva.

Let us delve deeper into the study of this fascinating phenomenon that is Intertextual Relationship.