'Levels' of Language
The Meaning Level Again: Intertextual Relations
Another, more general, aspect of context which affects meaning is the
fact that when we talk or write we do so remembering previous texts and
speech. Thus we can say something which we know our hearers or readers
will connect to another piece of text or talk. Imagine two people talking
about whether their new cat should be called Tiddles or Toddles. After
some discussion, one of them says 'What's in a name?'
Although the sentence appears to be a question,
it is really an opinion masquerading as a question. To realise this, you
need to know that it alludes to a speech in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.
(William Shakespeare  ,
Romeo and Juliet, II, ii, 43-7)
If the speaker and the hearer know the intertextual relation (in this
case a clear example of allusion) between their conversation and Juliet's,
it is clear that the speaker is expressing the opinion that it doesn't
really matter what name the cat has. This is because Juliet points out
in her speech that she loves Romeo whatever he is called, and in her situation,
where their families are at war, deciding that names don't matter has
rather more force than in a conversation about the naming of cats.
We will be returning to the issue of intertextuality a little later
in this session. But first ... if you'd like to take a quick visit to
the "Chuckle Stop!", you can do so by clicking Smiley:
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