When reading chapter 3 in Electronic Literature: What is it? I was interested in reading about the different aspects of hypertext. The basis of the chapter was to explain how hypertext puts electronic literature above traditional print work. "Early hypertext theorists, notably George Landow and Jay David Bolter, (Note 83) stressed the importance of the hyperlink as electronic literature's distinguishing feature, extrapolating from the reader's ability to choose which link to follow to make extravagant claims about hypertext as a liberatory mode that would dramatically transform reading and writing and, by implication, settings where these activities are important such as the literature classroom (Hayles, Ch 3). A hyperlink allows the user to navigate through various sources, essentially broadening the horizon for the reader on the given topic. In other words, hyperlink breaks the boundaries one faces when reading printed work.
I also found Siobhan Roberts article, Christopher Strachey's nineteen-fifties Love Machine, interesting. The article describes Christopher Strachey's computer program could take seventy base words and produce over billions of results. This further shows how electronic literature does not encounter the same boundaries as printed work.
Ryan Donahue
Electronic literature is also a relatively new form of writing and there are already so many different forms. It will interesting to see how it changes over time and separates from traditional literature.
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