Intertestualità in "A me le guardie!" di Terry Pratchett

This thesis aims to analyse the Terry Pratchett’s novel Guards! Guards! (1989) through the lenses of intertextuality and humour theory. The purpose is to analyse the four main characters of the novel, in the attempt to see if the intertextual references present in the text are a significant element in their characterisation. Intertextuality is a vast field, it presents great research potential and it has been surrounded by a rich debate since the inception of the term itself. It is a recognized feature of every text, and in some cases it acts as the foundation of entire literary genres, such as humour. As a comedy and fantasy writer, Terry Pratchett’s extensive Discworld series is the perfect ground to analyse intertextuality and humour. Because of the varied nature of intertextual references themselves, the sources for this thesis are greatly varied in nature, though most are connected to the literary narrative field. The analysis of the characters proved that intertextuality is both a prominent feature of the novel itself and a fundamental aspect that shapes the characters to their core.