dc.description.abstract | The present study aims at elaborating on the connection between two concepts in
the field of literary studies, namely metafiction and parody, alongside other related
notions, such as the function of irony as a rhetorical mechanism and the use of myths as
intertexts. Among the several scholars who address these topics, Rose (1979 and 1993),
Hutcheon (1980 and 1985), and Waugh (1984) specifically deal with how these
concepts relate to one another. The texts proposed for this study –Perseid and
Bellerophoniad, in Chimera (1972) by American author John Barth– share specific
rhetorical and narrative elements that allow us to frame this analysis within the
theoretical notions referred to before. It has been noted that those theoretical works that
address these concepts, as well as the more specific critical studies reviewed, do not
deal with precise analytical categories which can embrace the conceptual network that
these texts present. An extensive inquiry conducted in the main academic research
databases reveals that the problem as stated in this proposal has not yet been
investigated and no papers that analyse Barth’s texts from the theoretical perspective
outlined here have been found. By constructing a model of textual analysis, this
proposal aims at contributing to the study of metafiction and parody and to the critical
analysis of metafictional narratives in general. In so doing, this proposal can provide
working analytical tools that are likely to be applied to other research studies that
incorporate a wider or different variety of literary texts. | es |