This chapter approaches the problematics, both theoretical and practical, of textual meaning from the perspective of jurisprudential thinkers. It sets out the interconnections between legal interpretation and ‘its literary counterpart’. This essay provides us with an essential map of the ‘meta-textual’ thinking that scaffolds much of the work undertaken in the Law and Literature field. Reflecting on this collection’s aim to ‘hibernise’ Law and Literature studies, having established the contours of this key theoretical terrain through the wide-angle lens of the Anglo-American tradition, this opening contribution concludes with an overview of how different approaches to textual interpretation have shaped the phases of Irish jurisprudence since the State gained independence.