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It’s What’s on the Inside That counts
How to enhance your writing by using subtext
What is subtext?
Subtext is ‘an unspoken or less obvious meaning in a literary work’. Another way of thinking about it it is that subtext is the implicit meaning within a story. A meaning that lies beneath the explicit story itself.
It might sound complex, but subtext is everywhere
A good example of subtext can be seen in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. The story focuses on a small town where, once a year, all the citizens participate in a lottery. Whoever ‘wins’ is stoned to death by the other townsfolk.
On the surface, this is a short story about a barbaric country town. On further analysis, however, the story is a commentary on the injustice of conscripting young men to fight in war.
What is the point of subtext?
Subtext allows writers to tell a story using much more than words. Through writing experiences, interactions, and events, the writer can enrich their work with deeper meanings. It’s the same in everyday life; our actions and behaviours are as much a form of communication as our conversation.
