Landow and hypertext

George Landow sees the nonlinearity of hypertext overturning the traditional rhetorical structures and notions of textuality. Unlike the linear flow of print, hypertext is a fluid, nonlinear, self-contained structure of meaning. Since each hypertext link is a document in itself, each unit is independent of what came before and what comes after.

Landow states that it is difficult for authors to fix the beginning and end of their work because the rhetorical structure of hypertext frees the work from the constraints of a traditional beginning and end. It also renders the concept of the unitary document obsolete, allowing readers the choice over where to begin, where to end, and the order of which links are read. In essence, readers becomes author as they create their own structure or even add their own text to the beginning and ending, extending the text beyond its original bounds.

Hypertext changes our culture's concept of authorship and fixed text, returning us to a more oral, tribal tradition, where the myths and folklore are modified and embellished by succeeding generations, where the original authorship and form is forgotten.

There is no final word. There can be no final version, last thought. There is always a new view, a new idea, a reinterpretation.