Self-Reference:
Theory and Didactics between Language and Literature
by Svend Erik Larsen
Semiotics of Self-Reference
Literary metafiction constitutes the extreme case of self-referential
texts. Therefore we can either discard it as generally irrelevant for
the understanding of the cultural functions of texts, or use it as a point
of departure for the formulation of both general and basic aspects of
such functions. The position taken in this essay will opt for the last
possibility, although I know full well that already the term "metafiction"
itself inevitably triggers a variety of skeptical reactions. Does it not
just refer to some author's self-centered ruminations in the ivory tower?
Or a topic for the nerds of literary studies with a taste for theoretical
acrobatics? If so, in both cases following metafictional inclinations
results in complete isolation from both the context of literature and
its readers.
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