Why was the term 'intertextuality' coined? Why did its first theorists feel the need to replace or complement those terms - of quotation, allusion, echo, reference, influence, imitation, parody, pastiche, among others - which had previously seemed adequate and sufficient to the description of literary relations? Why, especially in view of the fact that it is still met with resistance, did the new concept achieve such popularity so fast? Why has it retained its currency in spite of its inherent paradoxes? Since 1966, when Kristeva defined every text as a 'mosaic of quotations', 'intertextuality' has become an all-pervasive catchword in literature and other humanities departments; yet the notion, as commonly used, remains nebulous to the point of meaninglessness. This book seeks to shed light on this thought-provoking but treacherously polyvalent concept by tracing the theory's core ideas and emblematic images to paradigm shifts in the fields of science, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and linguistics, focusing on the shaping roles of Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Saussure, and Bakhtin. In so doing, it elucidates the meaning of one of the most frequently used terms in contemporary criticism, thereby providing a much-needed foundation for clearer discussions of literary relations across the discipline and beyond.

About the Author

Scarlett Baron is Associate Professor of Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Literature at University College London.

Reviews

"The Birth of Intertextuality is such a welcome intervention in this unhappy context because it considers not only the genealogy of intertextuality, but how the wooliness of its deployment in literary studies and related disciplines can in part be attributed to the overdetermination attendant on the invention of the term. [...] Baron's patient demonstration of the validity of this valuable insight represents crucial intellectual historical work, illuminating this tricky enclave of twentieth-century theory." Niall Gildea, The Review of English Studies

"Scarlett Baron's second book is characteristically fluent and adept in its handling of a wide range of material and subjects. [...] It is indeed a welcome addition to the library of theory-enthusiasts for its lucid and incisive unpacking of what is dense and far-reaching material. [...] It is such dexterity in the synthesis of myriad materials and ideas that makes this book so successful." Emily Bell, James Joyce Broadsheet

"The scope and ambition [...] is impressive. There is a great deal here to admire. [...] In dense, closely argued chapters, Baron shows the way that these ideas came together in the revolutionary politics of late 1960s Paris, where Kristeva arrived as a graduate student to work with Roland Barthes. [...] Baron writes with great clarity on the long intellectual history that leads up to 1967. [...] The relentless exposure of the contradictions in Kristeva's prose that Baron offers is impressive." Bart Van Es, The Times Literary Supplement

"Scarlett Baron's long history of the ubiquitous, yet hardly univocally defined, idea of intertextuality wades deep into the genealogy of this foundational concept. Baron's history of intertextuality is useful to all those in the humanities who grapple with specific disciplinary tropes such as the function of the author. This history spotlights the most precious contributions to the theory of intertextuality and revitalizes the problem of the 'voice' of the text without imposing the didactic layout of an anthology as in the almost twenty-year-old The Portable Kristeva [...] the strength of Baron's book resides exactly in the detailed historicization of jargony or aI- la-mode vulgarizations." Mariaenrica Giannuzzi, Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

"The book's achievement lies in demonstrating the affinity between a radical flowering in 1960s and 1970s France and key developments in nineteenth- and twentieth-century thought (Darwin; Nietzsche; Freud). Whether that means the concepts are defused or domesticated is less clear; perhaps we get the best outcome, a deeper grounding of ideas which remain challenging. [...] in its main task, which is to demonstrate that we will understand intertextuality better if we take a longer view, this book is very successful. [...] it has every chance of enriching the discussion a great deal, and giving further nuances to the fact of indebtedness which is so often a feature of great literature." Raphael Lyne, Cambridge Quarterly

"Baron offers pertinent critiques of Kristeva's transformation of Bakhtin's conceptions [...] The Birth of Intertextuality offers a trenchant analysis of the problems inherent in Kristeva's original definition." Jonathan Culler, Journal of Modern Literature

Book Information
ISBN 9781032086323
Author Scarlett Baron
Format Paperback
Page Count 402
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 548g