Intertextuality and Parody in Selected Novels by David Lodge

Abstract

Intertextuality is a concept that enjoys a wide feasibility in many fields, especially in the field of writing novels. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate and examine in detail the theoretical views on intertextuality in some critical works by Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Harold Bloom, and Julia Kristeva. Another objective is to emphasise the fact that David Lodge (1935- ) has assimilated these views on intertextuality and has employed them in his own writing practice, through the use of parody for the sake of questioning the conventions of realism. This is underlined in some of his novels, namely, The British Museum Is Falling Down (1965), Small World (1984), and Nice Work (1988).