intertextuality

noun

1. 1

   The idea that a given text is a response to what has already been written, be it explicit or implicit.

   “When one studies the intertextuality of "Hamlet", one realises that William Shakespeare must have read thousands of books.”

2. 2

   The reference to another separate and distinct text within a text.

   “When one studies the intertextuality of "Hamlet", one realises that William Shakespeare must have read thousands of books.”