Hypertext and Hypertext Fiction

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Paola Trimarco (The Open University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

Domains

Movements, styles and periods (literature)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1990

Places

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

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Hypertext refers to texts that are produced and read on computers and which require the reader to click on hyperlinks in order to read through the text. In other words, each hypertext is composed of multiple texts, called lexia, which are joined through hyperlinks. Often the reader has more than one choice of hyperlink within a given lexia, and with each choice, a new and different lexia appears. The term

hypertext

was coined by the computer pioneer and philosopher Theodore H. Nelson in the 1960s to describe “non-sequential writing- text that branches and allows choices to the reader, best read at an interactive screen” (Nelson 1981 cited in Landow 2006, p.3). This first definition is still true of hypertext literature today and serves to highlight the main features which make…

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2448 words

Citation: Trimarco, Paola. "Hypertext and Hypertext Fiction". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 April 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=528, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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