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Literature vocabulary · Core Concepts

Paratext

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, paratext means: Material around the main text, such as a title or preface, that guides how it is read.

In Turkish: yan metin, paratekst

How it is used

Use in book analysis when the cover, title or preface changes expectations before the story begins.

Example sentences

  1. The new cover changes the novel's paratext and makes it look like a romance.

    The cover guides genre expectations although the story inside remains the same.

  2. We studied the translator's preface as paratext before comparing the two editions.

    The preface supplies a frame for reading the translated work.

Common collocations

  • study paratext
  • paratextual elements
  • textAny written work studied as language and meaning, from a poem or novel to a speech, article, or play.
  • interpretationAn explanation of what a text or a part of it means, supported by evidence from the text; also the act of explaining it.

More terms: Core Concepts

Practise with graded reading

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