Hypertext

Type of document comprised of interrelated textual nodes that are connected via associative links, facilitating non-linear traversal and reading
Ruben Trunzer 2026-08-07

Explication

The term hypertext, as coined by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, broadly denotes an archive of interlinked text nodes – or lexia – which “branches and allows choices to the reader” (2). These lexia are not presented in a fixed sequence, allowing readers to navigate within the system according to their own reasoning. In its modern usage, hypertext systems are usually presumed to consist of connected hyperlinks, which allow immediate movement from node to node. For example, browsing through Wikipedia or similar websites would, according to this definition, be considered an act of hyperreading. 

One of the most prominent kinds of hypertexts is hypertext fiction, a category of electronic literature which works within the structures of a hypertext system. Like any hypertext, the novels, stories, and poems which make up this type of fiction consist of individual text segments connected via hyperlinks. As Bell states, they are multilinear, so that “the reader must participate in their construction, choosing which path to take from the choices with which they are presented” (2). As such, these texts are put into a sequence only during the act of reading. Unlike other hypertexts, hypertext fiction usually provides a fixed point from which a reader starts, and they navigate through it according to rules laid out by the author. It is also commonly limited to a fixed length, although the length of individual reading experiences may differ. Although different precursors to hypertext fiction were published in traditional formats – including works of aleatory literature like Raymond Queneau’s Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes (1961) or Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire (1962) – it is the technical possibilities of digital networks and electronic hyperlinks which commonly define hypertexts today (Bell & Ensslin 48). 

For example, Geoff Ryman’s 253 (1996) is an early work of hypertext fiction, which consists of individual lexia, each describing one of 253 passengers on a train journey, spread over seven train cars. They can be read in any order, accessed either through hyperlinks to the individual cars and their passengers, or through a provided “Journey Planner”. A reader could theoretically start with any of the 253 passengers and make their way, in whichever order they decide on, through the rest of the lexia, or else abandon their reading before they have reached all 253 passengers. 

Stuart Moulthrop’s hypertext novel Victory Garden (1991; re-released online with additional content 2022) presents a more complex system of navigating between nodes. Through 993 lexia, connected by over 2800 links, the novel tells the fragmented stories of multiple intertwined characters during the time of the Gulf War. Readers can access the text through preordered ‘paths’ or ‘streams’ (the latter added in the 2022 update), as well as navigating through a non-linear ‘Labyrinth’ or an interactive map. Readers can, at any point, depart from the preordered sequence for unrelated lexia. Some of the lexia function as a kind of endpoint, although navigation to previous lexia is always possible. Further complexity is added by the novel’s multilinearity, since some paths are directly contradictory.  

Other early examples of hypertext fiction include Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl (1995), Edward Falco’s A Dream with Demons (1997), and Christy Sheffield Stanford’s Safara in the Beginning (1998). Many early examples of hypertext fiction have become difficult to access due to problems of preservation. Works published by Eastgate Systems – who were the primary publisher of hypertext literature – are not optimised for modern computer systems and require emulation; works published online often suffer from link rot. 

In their complexity and scope, hypertexts pose a challenge for researchers. There is no commonly agreed-upon hermeneutics of hypertexts, since the available lexia are newly sequenced by each individual reader, making it possible that no two readings of a text are ever identical (Schnierer 545). The lack of a fixed working text thus makes interpretation of the text and communication between researchers difficult. Some academics have disagreed with this notion, instead applying a number of approaches and methodologies to the analysis of hypertexts (cf. Bell, 185–191). But the fact that there is little to no agreement on how to productively approach hypertext fiction shows that its analysis remains a difficult topic.

See Also

• Cybertext - Print or digital texts that require active participation from the reader not just to interpret the meaning of the text but also to navigate through it, for example by choosing alternative paths or entering data that alters the output
• Digital Narrative - Form of storytelling driven by algorithmic narrativity, inflected and mediated by computation, or the context of ubiquitous technological networks
• Ergodic Literature - Texts that require significant effort from the reader to traverse, often involving non-linear navigation and interaction that contribute to the narrative's meaning
• Literary Game - Media artifact that contains both ludic and literary elements

Works Referenced

Bell, Alice. The Possible Worlds of Hypertext Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. 

Bell, Alice and Astrid Ensslin. Reading Digital Fiction. Routledge, 2024. 

Moulthrop, Stuart. Victory Garden, 2022, https://victory-garden2022.com 

Nelson, Theodor Holm. Literary Machines. Mindful Press, 1981. 

Ryman, Geoff. 253, 2023, https://www.253novel.com/ 

Schnierer, Peter Paul. “Graphic ‘Novels’, Cyber ‘Fiction’, Multiform ‘Stories’ – Virtual Theatre and the Limits of Genre.” Proceedings of the Conference of the German Association of University Teachers of English, Vol. XXI. Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2000.

Further Reading

Ensslin, Astrid. Canonizing Hypertext: Explorations and Constructions. Continuum, 2007. 

Landow, George P. Hypertext 3.0: Critical Theory and New Media in an Era of Globalization. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 

Short, Emily. “Narrative and Interactivity.” The Cambridge Companion to Literature in a Digital Age, edited by Adam Hammond. Cambridge University Press, 2024, pp. 177–193.

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