The Plot of Hypertexts :: Internet Technology Essays

The Plot of Hypertexts It is quite possible that hypertext is the new literate medium of the future, arguably the present. Unlike its bound counterpart, hypertexts nonlinear. They do not follow a simply straight path from beginning to end, rather the audience is able to choose the information necessary to them and move on. According to Janet H. Murray, author of Hamlet on the Holodeck, â€Å"if we give the interactor complete freedom to improvise, we lose track of the plot,† (Murray, 196). This concept is something completely new to literature, for never before had we have such medium with the reader having most of the control. Hypertexts are defined as, â€Å"a set of documents of any kind, (images, text, charts, tables, video clips, etc.,) connected to one another by links,† (Murray, 55). They have sparked interest in this new relationship between writer and audience. The plot is controlled/achieved by the reader, unlike in linear text where the writer controls the story’s destiny. The Victorian Web is such a hypertext. A project that began in 1987, The Victorian Web can be compared to a journal of interested readers contributing to the idea. It is a project of multiple writers, a feat nonlinear text can achieve with out a problem. With such possibilities, are hypertexts the new ideal medium? Careful critiquing of a hypertext is necessary when beginning to understand the new medium. The Victorian Web has numerous links on the home page alone, each link leading to a different path of interest. From there, the topics provide are broken down into more specific topics, each with a link of their own. Articles are provided for these topics of interest, catering to the need of the present reader at the time. Through my personal exploration of The Victorian Web, I was able to take separate paths on separate topics. The home page of the Victorian Web has 20 links on topics on the era, along with links for the function of the site itself.