Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2015
Abstract
This paper proposes to examine the ways in which pseudo-canonical motives appear both in fanfiction and in apocryphal materials. By pseudo-canonical motives I mean such that do not appear in the canonical texts, but that are a constant presence in the non-canonical materials, often even in a set order, creating texts that are very similar in ways that are not related to canon.
I also attempt to explore the relationship of these motives to the communities in which they are created, and touch on the question of authorship in fanfiction and apocrypha. As illustrative examples, I use the apocryphal Queen of Sheba stories on one hand, and Harry Potter fanfiction on the other.