The poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island
The poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island,” and for postmodernists, no text is an island. Postmodernism is all about the connections between texts, including the various ways in which one text references another (or many others). There are all kinds of techniques that authors can use in order to highlight these links, including pastiche, parody, quotes, and direct references, as well as subtler nods to other material. What these techniques have in common is that they’re examples of intertextuality(“Intertextuality-Characteristics”).
Metafiction
Postmodern poets adapted feature metafictionin their literary works, which is the awareness of the reader of its fictionality, postmodern poets use this feature in order to jump in time , or to make a successful shift in narrative.
Many postmodern authors feature metafiction in their writing, which, essentially, is writing about writing, an attempt to make the reader aware of its fictionality, and, sometimes, the presence of the author. Authors sometimes use this technique to allow for flagrant shifts in narrative, impossible jumps in time, or to maintain emotional distance as a narrator(“What is postmodernism”).
Temporal distortion
Temporal distortion is a technique related to postmodernism, postmodern authors use this feature in different ways, sometimes it is considered as an irony, sometimes it is used in order to jump in time. The use of this technique is not fixed; it is related to what it is suitable for the situation or the literary work.
Temporal distortion in postmodern fiction is used in a variety of ways, often for the sake of irony. In this literary the author may jump forwards or backwards in time, or there may be cultural and historical references that do not fit (“What is postmodernism”).