Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun literary theory Images and textual elements which surround, or are secondary to, the main body of a published work, such as an
introduction ,notes , front covers, etc.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From peri- + text.
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Examples
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In the world of children’s literature, peritext is loosely defined as all of the “extras” outside the published text itself – found on the end papers of books and/or an Author’s or Illustrator’s Note in the back of the story, as examples.
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The first category, peritexts, refers to paratexts that exist within the same physical volume (or the same floppy comic book): Within the same volume are elements such as the title or the preface and sometimes elements inserted into the interstices of the text, such as chapter titles or certain notes (Genette, pp. 4-5).
Comic Book Paratexts, Comic Book Paratexts John A. Walsh; biblicon.org 2025
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