Intermediality: Where Literature and other Media Meet
July 30th, 2012
What do graphic novels, musicals, literary photo-texts, and the movie adaptation of, say, Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightly have in common? All of these different genres and works are examples of intermediality, a phenomenon which, according to Irina Rajewsky, has proliferated in the arts since the 1990s – especially within the realm of literature.
Accordingly, this lecture attempts to investigate the instances in which literature and other media meet by pursuing two general objectives: firstly, the concept of ‘intermediality’ has to be defined – its borders have to be outlined (this is why intermediality will be contrasted with related, ‘competing’ concepts such as ‘intertextuality’) and its inner structure has to be disclosed (this is why its main forms will be determined). Secondly, examples of different forms of intermediality at the intersection of literature and other media, such as film, painting, music, and photography, will be given and examined.
