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Gerard Genette's "Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation" (1997) calls attention to an aspect of reading not often considered, namely those elements of books separate from the text proper that contribute to, and even shape a reader's experience of the work. He coins various terms to help identify extra-textual items found on the "threshold" of books. For instance, by peritext he indicates such things as book titles, dedications, chapter titles and prefaces, whereas epitext includes such things as author interviews, marketing descriptions and reviews. The titular term paratext encompasses all of these extra-textual matters, which in various ways infdluence readers.

If it is true that we judge books by their cover, that in some ways paratexts shape our reading, does this also apply to the Bible? Copyists and interpreters have always supplemented the canonical writings in one form or another, from explanatory margin notes by translators, to the Masoretes adding vowel pointing and Qere and Ketiv (notes) to aid Hebrew pronunciation, to the brilliant illuminations of medieval manuscripts, to the addition of chapter and verse numbers centuries after the original compositions. Modern publishers add all kinds of paratextual features as well. Flip through any translation or edition and there is a title page, publisher information, a table of contents, and page numbering. Modern Bibles usually have running page headings with book, chapter and verse references
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Last edited by kibago1 (2012-05-10 5:01:55 AM)