Intertextuality in the Novel "Baudolino" by Umberto Eco

Intertextuality is studied and researched since the time when Julia Kristeva, basing on the works of Russian structuralist Bakhtin, introduced the term in order to characterize the situation in the field of literature. It appears, each text consists of infinite layers of quotations and allusions. Later, Roland Barthes declared the death of author, but Baudrillard complicated the situation by stating the modern world to be living within the environment of simulacrum and concluded, that not every signifier corresponds to the original signified. Since then, many literary theoreticians and semioticians have continued the work during which many discussions arise because of different approaches to one and the same problems.
Because of this environment of simulacrum and the lack of firm points of reference within the ideologies, and the plurality of opinions governing the modern world, it is often hard for readers to find a core to rely upon: everything and everyone can be doubted. Thus, the goal of this research paper is to try to find some tool that might help in this orientation, and it is the analysis of intertextuality.
The hypothesis is the following: it is possible to use intertextual analysis as a tool for construction and deconstruction of ‘truth’ and ‘reality’ in order to find the points of reference in narratives.
The novel written by Umberto Eco, “Baudolino” provides a splendid material for the analysis of intertextual relations, since:
a) its author is semiotician by his specialty, consequently, he has implied many of such relations in his work;
b) the protagonist and the main narrator of the novel Baudolino is represented as a person widely applying skills of using narratives, signs and intertextual relations in the fabrication of ‘truths’.
In order to reach the goal of the paper, it is planned to research the notions of the main terms used in the field, to find a system according to which to carry out the analysis of intertextuality, and, basing on it, to perform a practical analysis of intertextuality basing on Umberto Eco’s novel “Baudolino”. To perform these tasks, it is planned to analyze the theoretical literature and internet sources available in the field of semiotics and literary theory, and to research the usage of intertextual elements in the novel. It is based on an assumption, that, in order to create a novel, an author must choose, consciously or subconsciously, elements of earlier texts that are signs signifying these texts simultaneously. Consequently, it is possible to use for the analysis of intertexts the same elements which are used for literary text analyses (but not all of them for the sake of brevity): plot, characters, point of view, narrators, language. The issue is to find out which elements of earlier texts are used, what are their functions, and, probably, in what cases such usage is restricted and why.
The paper consists of three chapters with the subsequent subchapters. The first chapter is devoted to theoretical research and definitions of the terms. The second provides an insight into the possible models that may be used in the analysis of intertextuality. The third chapter provides the practical analysis of the text. The list of literature contains 24 sources of information.…