Textual Closure (Formal)
Formal closure is the property of a text insofar as it is inaccessible to modification. Historically, the closed text arose in the early modern period within 18th and 19th century systems of literary printing in Europe (Hesse, 28). When printed and bound within the confines of the covers of the book, the text was largely sealed from change, a quality which elevated the author during the Romantic period to a status of renown, and canonized the novel as timeless.
Yet the widespread contemporary adoption of personal computers has recently shown textual closure to be a contingent historical phenomenon, tied to the regime of print. For the computer user, digital text becomes a fluid, accessible form of data, easily copied or modified. For better or worse, the textual effect is to dramatically lower the barrier to inscription, opening up discourse and overwriting the author.
References
Genette, Gerard. "Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation". Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. 1997.
Hesse, Carla. "Books in Time." From Nunberg, Geoffrey (ed) "The Future of the Book". University of California Press: Berkeley and Los Angeles. 1996. Print.
Kittler, Friedrich. "Gramophone, Film, Typewriter". Stanford University Press: Stanford. 1999. Print.
Vismann,Cornelia. "Files: Law and Media Technology". Stanford University Press: Stanford. 2008. Print.
