Arguably, most Internet users today know very little about Hypertext – its origins, uses and modes of delivery. Yet for some time now, amongst the digital savvy crowd, there has been a growing interest and increasing awareness that hypertext delivers more than just raw information. Indeed for many users, hypertext is the new literacy. This article provides an historical overview of hypertext and its discourse, as well as a definition of the narrative that is both relevant to the printed text and to the digital format. It also examines the hypertext novel, Victory Garden (1991) written by Stuart Moulthrop.
History demonstrates that the introduction of new technologies has its supporters and also its critics. The hypertext discourse is no different. This paper discusses two major opposing points of view regarding the essential qualities of hypertext. They include the Ludology and the Narratology debate, which has been promoted respectively by Espen J. Aarseth and Janet Murray. In the future, however, apart from gaming and the various methods that digital media employs to enhance the reading experience, hypertext will also be utilised to help create and organize memories. As such, the paper briefly describes how this application will revolutionise not only the way society records and recalls past events, but also the way it delivers history, lectures and experiential learning to the consumer. Finally, it will be argued that emerging as a new form of narrative, hypertext and its various applications offer a contemporary textuality for the 21st century.
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