Ernest Hemingway once noticed that a literary work is like an iceberg: on the surface there is only one seventh of the story, and everything else is hidden between the lines. And in order for the reader to see what is not there, the author has to “hint” at an event or situation. Such hints are called “subtexts” - this is another clever trick in the vast arsenal of writer's “stuff”. In this article, we will try to briefly analyze a topic called "Subtext is ...".
When did he appear and where did he take root?
For the first time, the concept of subtext entered literature at the beginning of the 19th century. This technique was originally characteristic of psychological prose or poetry of symbolism and post-symbolism. Somewhat later, they began to use it even in journalism.
In literature, the concept of "subtext" was first understood by Hemingway. His philosophical definition of the term was as follows: the subtext is the hidden part of the work, where are the main points of the story that the reader must independently find.
Best of all, the subtext stuck in Japan, where understatement or hint is a special artistic measure that can often be found not only in works of literature, but also in other areas of art. Indeed, the religion and mentality of the Land of the Rising Sun are oriented towards seeing the invisible beyond the visible.
What is subtext?
As already clear from the above, the subtext in literature is an artistic hint. A special kind of information that opens the reader to the other side of the story. To understand it is to find what the author kept silent about. Revealing the subtext, the reader as if becomes a co-author, imagining, thinking and imagining.
The subtext is a mystery, as if the consumer was offered to guess the picture, showing only a few touches. By directing the reader’s imagination, the author makes him worry, rejoice or sad.
The subtext is what is hidden "under the text." The text itself is just a collection of letters and a handful of punctuation marks. They mean nothing - so simple, but something else is hidden behind them. In the white line-to-line openings, the experiences of the protagonist or the beauty of another world flash.
Explanation Examples
Subtext - these are phrases that make the reader imagine what is happening, represent the experiences of the protagonist. It can be found in every work of fiction. To better understand the essence of the subtext, it’s worthwhile to give a few phrases and a “subtext” interpretation.
The subtext in the literature is (examples):
- A. Akhmatova: “I put on my right hand, Glove from my left hand.” After these lines, the reader understands that the main character is in suspense. Her actions are scattered because of experiences.
- L. Tolstoy: “A whistle of a locomotive roared lamentably and gloomily ahead (...) the horror of a blizzard has become beautiful now.” It is as if the reader himself is experiencing the emotional state of Anna Karenina before her death: a terrible snowstorm becomes beautiful because of the fear of approaching, "pitiable and gloomy", death.
- A. Chekhov: “A silent, submissive, incomprehensible creature, impersonalized by its humility, spineless, weak from excessive kindness, quietly suffered on the couch and did not complain.” With these words, the author tried to show the weakness of the hero (Dymov), who was near death.
The subtext can be found everywhere: it is present in literature, and in conversations, and in drama. The understatement and hidden meaning is another way of transmitting information, which makes the main subject of discussion more real and close.