1. Series editor's preface; 2. List of figures; 3. Preface; 4. Introduction. A theory of text and textual meaning; 5. Part I. The theory explained; 6. Chapter 1. The ordinary conception of a text and the cluster conception; 7. Chapter 2. Exemplars of texts and complexes of signs; 8. Chapter 3. Textual meaning; 9. Chapter 4. A news story and a work of electronic literature; 10. Chapter 5. A poem: "Dickinson 591"; 11. Part II. The theory compared with other theories; 12. Chapter 6. The standard linguistic perspective on text and textual meaning; 13. Chapter 7. Analytic-aesthetic views of textual meaning; 14. Chapter 8. Text and textual meaning as conceived by standard literary theory; 15. Chapter 9. The idea that texts are unitary objects; 16. Conclusion. An informal summary; 17. References; 18. Index

In this lucid and provocative study, Pettersson challenges our most basic assumptions about the nature of texts and textual meaning. Its point of departure is a critical analysis of the popular conception of the text: the view that a text is a unitary entity made up of both physical objects and abstract verbal structures. Pettersson convincingly argues for the incoherence of this model as a foundation for intellectual discussion, showing how it permeates disciplines as diverse as linguistics, philosophy, literary theory, and aesthetics. This book is a rigorously argued plea for conceptual clarity in our engagement with the meanings of texts of all kinds.