Hypertextuality is a postmodern theory of the inter-connectedness of all literary works and their interpretation.
The prefix 'hyper' is derived from the Greek 'above, beyond or outside'. Hence hypertext has come to describe a text which provides a network of links to other texts that are 'outside, beyond and above itself'.
According to Gerard Genette in Palimpsestes, a book about hypertextuality, "hypotext" refers to the source of the text, as well as to previous editions or versions of it. Hypertext is related to paratext, which includes information that accompanies the text itself (illustrations, preface or introduction).[1]