On Presupposition:a Concept Of Riffaterre’s Theory Of Intertextuality

Rifaterre is a famous modern critic and theorist in the field of literature. He keeps himself an important role in the circle of the theory of intertextuality. His theory is not only textual theory, but also notion of literature, besides, poetics of reading. He puts extreme emphasis upon the process of intertextual reading and the potential structure of the text, with which differentiates his theory from other theorists. The concept of presupposition is not central in Rifaterre’s theory, however, it’s particularly helpful to understand how the theory of intertextuality deal with the gap between the text and the reader. Riffaterre gives it the mediated role as a solution to the problem. The text presupposes that it says one thing and means another, and the reader may understand the text through the presupposed intertext. What’s a must is not the familiarity with the knowledge of intertext but the presupposition of intertext. Above is the basic content of the first chapter. The rest chapters analyze the functions of presupposition in Riffaterre’s theory of intertextuality, that is, presupposition is the operator of the intertextuality. Ungrammaticality occurring during the process of reading is a sign and chance of discovering intertext it presupposes, while the structure of syllepsis is the mechanism of how text creates the presupposition and its potential intertext. The thesis combines interpretation of theory with analysis of text, drawing the picture of mediation model, and concludes that Riffaterre’s theory of intertaxtuality bridges the gulf between text and reader by the concept of presupposition.