In
literary theory
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mor ...
, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothing. It is a coherent set of
signs that transmits some kind of informative
message. This set of signs is considered in terms of the informative message's ''content'', rather than in terms of its physical form or the medium in which it is represented.
Within the field of
literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
, "text" also refers to the original information content of a particular piece of writing; that is, the "text" of a work is that primal symbolic arrangement of letters as originally composed, apart from later alterations, deterioration, commentary, translations,
paratext, etc. Therefore, when literary criticism is concerned with the determination of a "text", it is concerned with the distinguishing of the original information content from whatever has been added to or subtracted from that content as it appears in a given textual document (that is, a physical representation of text).
Since the
history of writing
The history of writing traces the development of expressing language by systems of markings and how these markings were used for various purposes in different societies, thereby transforming social organization. Writing systems are the foundati ...
predates the concept of the "text", most texts were not written with this concept in mind. Most written works fall within a narrow range of the types described by
text theory. The concept of "text" becomes relevant if and when a "coherent written message is completed and needs to be referred to independently of the circumstances in which it was created."
Etymology
The word ''text'' has its origins in
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...
's ''
Institutio Oratoria
''Institutio Oratoria'' (English: Institutes of Oratory) is a twelve-volume textbook on the theory and practice of rhetoric by Roman rhetorician Quintilian. It was published around year 95 AD. The work deals also with the foundational education ...
'', with the statement that "after you have chosen your words, they must be weaved together into a fine and delicate fabric", with the Latin for fabric being ''
textum''.
Uses of the term for analysis of work practice
Relying on literary theory, the notion of text has been used to analyse contemporary work practices. For example, Christensen (2016)
[Christensen, L.R. (2016). On Intertext in Chemotherapy: an Ethnography of Text in Medical Practice. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): The Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices. Volume 25, Issue 1, pp 1-38 ] rely on the concept of text for the analysis of work practice at a hospital.
See also
*
Text linguistics
*
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
*
Textual scholarship
Textual scholarship (or textual studies) is an umbrella term for disciplines that deal with describing, transcribing, editing or annotating texts and physical documents.
Overview
Textual research is mainly historically oriented. Textual scholar ...
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Theme (narrative)
In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's ''thematic concept'' is what readers "think the work is about" and its ''thematic statement' ...
References
Further reading
* Barry, Peter. ''Beginning Theory: an Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory'', 4th edn. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2017. .
*
Bakhtin Bakhtin (Russian: Бахтин) is a Russian masculine surname originating from the obsolete verb ''bakhtet'' (бахтеть), meaning ''to swagger''; its feminine counterpart is Bakhtina. The surname may refer to the following notable people:
*Ale ...
, M. M. (1981)
The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays'. Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin and London: University of Texas Press.
* Culler, Jonathan; (1997) ''Literary Theory: a Very Short Introduction''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
*
Eagleton, Terry
Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University.
Eagleton has published over forty book ...
. ''Literary Theory: an Introduction'', 2nd edn. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. .
* Eagleton, Terry. ''After Theory''. NY: Basic Books, 2003. .
* Groden, Michael, Martin Kreiswirth, & Imre Szeman, eds. ''The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism'', 2nd edn. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. .
* Lodge, David and Nigel Wood, eds. ''Modern Criticism and Theory: a Reader'', 3rd edn. Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2008.
* Patai, Daphne and Wilfrido H. Corral, eds. ''Theory's Empire: an Anthology of Dissent''. NY: Columbia University Press, 2005. .
* Rabaté, Jean-Michel. ''The Future of Theory''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. .
Literary theory
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