Australian Curriculum v9 / ACiQ Year 9 English - Unit 1 - Intertextuality and context

Intertextuality and Context | Year 9 English

Compare texts without dumping background information, and explain how context shapes meaning.

Updated 2026-06-15 - 4 min read

Intertextuality means one text connects with another text. The connection might be a reference, a similar plot, a reused image, a shared genre, a challenge to an old idea or a new version of a familiar story.

Context means the situation around a text: when and where it was made, who made it, what issue it responds to, and what values or assumptions may shape it.

Intertextuality is more than spotting references

It is easy to write, "This text references another text." That is a start, but it is not analysis.

Ask:

  • What idea, image, character type or story pattern is being reused?
  • Is the newer text agreeing with it, changing it or criticising it?
  • How does the connection shape the audience's interpretation?

For example, a modern film might use a fairy-tale structure but change the ending so the character saves themselves. The intertextual link matters because it changes the values attached to heroism, independence and gender roles.

Context should be relevant

Context is not a paragraph of background facts. A useful context sentence explains one factor that changes how we read the text.

Weak: "The text was made in the 1950s. The 1950s were a long time ago."

Stronger: "Because the text was produced in a period that often promoted strict gender roles, its depiction of ambition as unfeminine can be read as a reflection of social expectations at the time."

The stronger version connects context to representation and meaning.

Be careful with author intention

Context can help interpretation, but it does not let you read the author's mind. Instead of claiming exactly what an author "wanted", write about what the text suggests, constructs, reinforces or challenges.

Weak: "The author intended to prove that technology is evil."

Stronger: "The repeated images of isolation suggest a critical attitude toward technology when it replaces face-to-face relationships."

The stronger sentence stays with evidence. It still makes an argument, but it avoids pretending to know the author's private thoughts.

This matters when comparing texts from different times. A modern text may challenge values that an older text takes for granted, but you still need to prove that difference through language, character, structure, image or audience positioning.

Comparing texts

A strong comparison does not place two summaries next to each other. It explains a meaningful similarity or difference.

Use comparison verbs:

  • both texts suggest
  • whereas
  • challenges
  • reinforces
  • reimagines
  • contrasts
  • extends

Notice that this paragraph uses evidence from both texts and explains the significance of the difference.

Quick check

  1. What is intertextuality?
  2. Why is context not the same as background dumping?
  3. Write one comparison sentence using "whereas".

Answers:

  1. Intertextuality is a connection between texts, such as a reference, shared pattern, adaptation or challenge.
  2. Context should help explain meaning. Background dumping lists facts without linking them to the text.
  3. Example: The first text presents the city as threatening, whereas the second presents it as a place of opportunity.

Transfer task

Find a retelling, adaptation, parody or remix of a familiar story. Explain what it keeps, what it changes, and what new value or attitude the changed version creates.

Sources