What is a Paratext?

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A frame is to a painting, what a book cover is to a book and a title sequence to a film in that they’re all paratextual parergon’s. These works are changeable, sometimes not having any relation to the actual text, painting or film that they surround, however they can’t be removed because they become apart of the work. A paratext is something that has been created for a piece of work, but not by the original author of that work. They are also pieces of work that accessorise a main piece of work, otherwise known as a perergon. These paratexts might not be entirely necessary, although without them, certain elements of the works might be lost. A painting without a frame, would still be a painting, the same applies to a book and a film. Picture frames and book covers are not autonomous, there is little reason for a book or a frame other than the work it encompasses. Artists and designers strive to make them into beautiful objects and quite often they become known as just that in some ways making them unsuccessful in their purpose. Each paratext is similar and different from each other in many ways. The thing that ties them together is that they are all parergons.

Technically a book cover isn’t necessary at all, and could be seen as excess ornamentation, quite similarly to what a frame is to a painting. A book without a cover is still the same book, as a painting is still a painting without its frame. A film on the other hand needs it’s title sequence for legal reasons, this being the primary reason for its appearance at the beginning of the film. The primary differences of a book cover and a frame are that a frame does not cover the work entirely and is seen by the viewer together with the painting, adding visual aesthetic to the pai...

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...e artist would create the painting knowing where it would be placed within the architectural foundations of the church. A book cover however is nearly always created after the text has been written, making them two completely separate objects that are only forced to sit together because of the binding of the book. In a way this means that a book cover is a necessary accessory. Otherwise known as a parergon. A piece of work that is an accessory to a main piece of work. Any ancient statue of a person is also an excellent example of this. Many Roman and Greek statues use drapery across the body of their statues. Drapery on a statue is an example of a parergon. The drapery is not an integral part of the statue. The integral part being the actual body of the statue, it’s torso, arms, face and legs. The drapery is just added ornamentation framing the body of the statue.

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