This Area of Exploration focuses on connections between different literary texts, traditions, creators, and ideas. You’ll compare literary works to develop a deeper appreciation of both their individual characteristics and the relationships between them. One text can provide a lens through which another text is interpreted, while a different work may expand upon or challenge an interpretation.

Intertextuality can be explored in many different ways. For example, you might study works from the same literary form, compare texts that explore a common theme such as power or gender, examine how different works approach the same concept, or investigate how one text’s allusions to another affect their meanings.

In this area, you’ll explore key questions such as:

• How do literary texts follow or challenge conventions associated with literary forms?
• How do conventions and systems of reference evolve over time?
• In what ways can different literary texts share similarities?
• How useful is the idea of a “classic” literary text?
• How can literary texts provide multiple perspectives on the same issue, topic, or theme?
• In what ways can comparison and interpretation transform our understanding of literature?