The Greek prefix for expresses the idea of "aside from" or "next to", as it happens with words like paranormal, paramilitary, paramedicine and others. In this way, the paratext is everything that is related to a text. Thus, if we take into account the content of a book, we are talking about the text itself, which has a series of associated elements, such as the title of the book, the cover and back cover, the dedication, the index, the glossary or the prologue. All these elements make up the paratext of a text. The concept of paratext can be applied to a newspaper article, a novel or any format with some written content.
The role of paratextual elements and examples
The set of paratextual elements allow the reader to have relevant information to better understand the reading of a given text.
Reading the paratextual elements allows the reader to have a kind of guide on a text
For example, a dedication by the author may express a key idea in a novel. If we think of a back cover with a brief summary of a literary work, reading the back cover can be a key element for the reader to decide to read the book. There is paratextual information that may seem irrelevant at first glance, such as the number of editions of a book, the year of publication, the name of the translator or the city where it was printed.
Although these data seem secondary, they have their importance, since each one of them contributes a nuance to the textual content (for example, let's think about the difference in the translation of the same work depending on the quality of the translator).
Paratextual elements in a journal
A newspaper is designed to be read throughout a day. To facilitate its reading there are a whole series of paratextual elements that must be considered. If we think of a news story, there is a whole series of paratextual information, such as the news title, subtitles, highlighted words, boxes, images, etc. Each element fulfills a certain function. Thus, the headline of the news has to be suggestive and clear so that the reader is predisposed to read the entire news.
The role of images is fundamental and for this reason the written press uses photography as a complementary element. The font and the ease of reading it is a determining factor. The distribution of the information also conditions the attitude of the reader.
Photos: iStock - Liana2012l / Martin Dimitrov
