An Intertextual Study Of "Once Upon A Time: A Floating Opera

John Barth was a pioneer of American postmodernist literature.John Barth’s works are characterized by a distinct intertextuality.With the help of generalized intertextuality theory and narrow intertextuality theory,this thesis analyzes the rich intertextual relationship in the novel Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera through the three intertextual characteristics of quotation,collage and parody,aiming to explore the theme of self-search,realistic care and narrative effect.This thesis consists of six parts.The introductory section briefly introduces John Barth’s life,literary ideas,and the work Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera;This thesis reviews the current status of research on Barth and his works at home and abroad.The first chapter of the overview of intertextuality theory mainly summarizes the origin of intertextuality theory,the concept of intertextuality,and the intertextuality strategies used in this thesis.The second chapter analyzes the intertextual characteristic of Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera:quotation,and the reflections on literary creation and the novel’s search for self-themes revealed behind them.The "divine renunciation" that appears nine times in the novel is quoted from Philippians;In addition to this,there are references to letters on the Water in Lost in the Funhouse and "lost art" in An Art.The third chapter analyzes the characteristic of intertextuality: collage and explores the narrative effects of this novel.This thesis analyzes the operatic patterns,musical scores,quotations of others,foreign languages,and essay fragments from old loose-leaf books in the novel,and finds that the multiple narrative subjects shaped by the collage adds to the coherence of the novel’s narrative.The forth chapter analyzes the intertextual character of fiction: parody.The author finds that the parody practice in the novel lies Barth’s critique of postmodern society.In Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera,Barth parodies traditional seafaring stories,the original myth of Theseus in the Labyrinth,and Aeneid.Finally,the concluding part of this thesis.This thesis conducts intertextual research on Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera,which helps to explore the theme of the novel and analyze the narrative effect reached by the intertextual creative techniques in the novel.