Subtext as popularly defined, is the underlining theme of a content that is implicitly understood by the audience without the character/author saying or mentioning it explicitly. In short it is, what’s meant to be said without actually saying it.
A more linear or rather straight forward approach of conveying a particular message/content to an audience is through context. The context by definition is the circumstances that form the setting of an event, statement or an idea.
While a context plays a more active role in defining or bordering the landscape of a thought, as to where and how should it exist in the minds of the audiences. The subtext plays a much passive role in illuminating the rather obvious idea intended to be presented.
Let’s try and illustrate the same though an example:-
Suppose you ask a friend “I hope you’re fine”. Now this statement alone without any context, seem to be a little out of place. For instance, once could simply ask “How are you doing? “, which is more of a general enquiry made in place of an absolutely general pleasantry. However, our original line “I hope you’re fine” doesn’t befit a normal conversation without any context. And without a context, the observer is free to choose any number of hypotheses that may exist in order to give the line some meaning such as:-
- Has the friend hurt himself?
- Is he sick or ill?
- Has he lost something or someone close?
- Maybe you have heard a rumor about the friend are hence making an enquiry.
The point is that there could be endless possibilities that the audience could conjure in order to give meaning to the line “I hope you’re fine”.
Now let’s presume that the friend in question has lost someone close to him and you make an enquiry by asking him how he was doing – essentially have a context to the line “I hope you’re fine”. And upon the enquiry the friend replies “Yes, I am fine”. Now while he says, that he’s fine, what he really means is that no, he’s not fine, and he has just had a loss and still recuperating from the same and does not wish to talk about it. This is subtext.
Now, one is bound to think that the context is more important in establishing the relation between the words and their meaning, in terms of where and how, to place them in an emotional and physical spectrum. Context is important to give words, situations, and content a tangible periphery to exist and give them meaning. But it is the subtext which makes the words, situations, the content more meaningful, by indulging the psyche in a more abstract manner and yet being able to deliver the point.
A more linear or rather straight forward approach of conveying a particular message/content to an audience is through context. The context by definition is the circumstances that form the setting of an event, statement or an idea.
While a context plays a more active role in defining or bordering the landscape of a thought, as to where and how should it exist in the minds of the audiences. The subtext plays a much passive role in illuminating the rather obvious idea intended to be presented.
Let’s try and illustrate the same though an example:-
Suppose you ask a friend “I hope you’re fine”. Now this statement alone without any context, seem to be a little out of place. For instance, once could simply ask “How are you doing? “, which is more of a general enquiry made in place of an absolutely general pleasantry. However, our original line “I hope you’re fine” doesn’t befit a normal conversation without any context. And without a context, the observer is free to choose any number of hypotheses that may exist in order to give the line some meaning such as:-
- Has the friend hurt himself?
- Is he sick or ill?
- Has he lost something or someone close?
- Maybe you have heard a rumor about the friend are hence making an enquiry.
The point is that there could be endless possibilities that the audience could conjure in order to give meaning to the line “I hope you’re fine”.
Now let’s presume that the friend in question has lost someone close to him and you make an enquiry by asking him how he was doing – essentially have a context to the line “I hope you’re fine”. And upon the enquiry the friend replies “Yes, I am fine”. Now while he says, that he’s fine, what he really means is that no, he’s not fine, and he has just had a loss and still recuperating from the same and does not wish to talk about it. This is subtext.
Now, one is bound to think that the context is more important in establishing the relation between the words and their meaning, in terms of where and how, to place them in an emotional and physical spectrum. Context is important to give words, situations, and content a tangible periphery to exist and give them meaning. But it is the subtext which makes the words, situations, the content more meaningful, by indulging the psyche in a more abstract manner and yet being able to deliver the point.
