Electronic Literature

Examining Narrative Possibilities in Hyper-text Fiction: A Study Beyond the Territory of Print Fiction in Quibbling and Patchwork Girl

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Pooja Bhuyan1*  & Rajashree Dutta2 
1,2 Asst. Professor, Sibsagar Girls’ College, Sivasagar, Assam, India. *Corresponding author.

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2024. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v16n3.05
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Abstract

The paper is an attempt to examine the narrative elements present in the hyper-fictions Quibbling by Carolyn Guyer and Patchwork Girl by Shelley Jackson. In doing so, it shall consider how the narrative functions through different nodes and links in hypertext fiction, an element varied from traditional print fiction. In the process of this examination, the theories that signify narrative fluidity are taken into consideration. The reading shall examine how the role of the author and the reader switch places in advancing the hypertext narratives. It is an attempt to show how hyper-fiction closes the gap between the theory of post-structuralism and its practice. The essay also shall focus on the etymological journey of hyper-fiction with reference to its technological advancements as well as the contribution of its print precursors in channelling its development as a full-fledged and novel narrative form. The paper shall not only be analytical of the narrative of hyper-fiction, but it shall also focus on opening up further discussions of the area.

Keywords: Hypertext, hyper-fiction, digital literature, narratives.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Ethical Consideration: Informed consent was obtained from all the participants of the study.
Funding: No funding was received for this research.
Article History: Received: 01 September 2024. Revised: 28 November 2024. Accepted: 29 November 2024. First published: 30 November 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 by the author/s.
License: License Aesthetix Media Services, India. Distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Published by: Aesthetix Media Services, India 
Citation:Bhuyan, P. & Dutta,R. (2024). Examining Narrative Possibilities in Hyper-text Fiction: A Study Beyond the Territory of Print Fiction in Quibbling and Patchwork Girl. Rupkatha Journal 16:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v16n3.05

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Literature in New Media: A Comparative Study of Literary Affordances of Lance Olsen’s “10:01” in Traditional and Digital Medium

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R.Ramya1 and Dr.Rukmini.S2

1PhD Scholar, Department of English, School of Social Sciences and Languages, VIT, Vellore. ORCID id: 0000-0002-7298-5959. Email: ramyarajakannan7@gmail.com

2Senior Assistant Professor, Department of English, School of Social Sciences and Languages, VIT, Vellore. ORCID id: 0000-0001-8414-3145. Email: rukminikrishna123@gmail.com

 Volume 13, Number 2, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n2.45

Abstract

The recent advances of the digital era invoke an array of new media for communication. This impressive feat of technology purveys a wide range of new affordances to communication unviable in print. The new media affordances of the electronic and the digital have impacted the creative literary compositions, providing innovations in contemporary literature. Postmodern literature being the initiation of experimental works has strived to reinvent the affordances of literary fiction. It has now advanced into resorting to digital technological affordances to maximize narrative inventiveness. Lance Olsen’s “10:01”, a postmodern novel adapted as hypertext fiction, is an exemplar of such feat. This research examines the literary affordances of the chosen text in print and its hypertext adaptation within the framework of affordance theories.  The study unveils the inlaid new media aesthetics and viabilities of the digital in relation to the traditional medium of print by focusing on affordances. The paper asserts the significance of theorizing the aesthetics involved in digital textuality by holding print and electronic literature at the intersection. This study aims to establish the shift in literary analysis paradigms of text due to the emergence of New media.

Keywords: Electronic literature, New media, Literary Affordances, Print vs Digital, Hypertext fiction, Postmodern Literature, New media Aesthetics.

Performance Space of the Digital Performer/Reader inside Andy Campbell and Judi Alston’s Digital Fiction the Nightingale’s Playground

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Gitanjali Roy

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts, ICFAI University, Tripura. Research Scholar, Dept of English, Tripura University. ORCID: 0000-0003-3672-3481. E-mail: itzgitz@gmail.com/gitanjaliroy@iutriipura.edu.in 

 Volume 13, Number 2, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n2.32

 Abstract:

A digital performer has to negotiate with different kinds of affordances inside the space of a digital text. The Nightingale’s Playground (2010), a digital fiction authored by Andy Campbell and Judi Alston offers the reader/player with four versions of the text centering on the protagonist Carl Robertson who tries hard to search for his lost school friend Alex Nightingale. The online texts (‘Consensus Trance’, ‘Fieldwork Book’) and the gaming version of the digital fiction (‘Consensus Trance II’) offer the reader different decisional platforms. This makes it a challenging task for the reader to connect the affordances of the digital text. At the same time, the offline pdf version of the digital fiction hints at Carl being affected by a psychological disorder. The paper shall focus on how a digital reader negotiates his/her position inside the digital text by decoding the programmer’s/author’s encoded plot.

Keywords: Digital, Performer, Text, Nightingale’s Playground, Reader, Player.