Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An implicit meaning or theme of a literary text.
- noun The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor in performance.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
implicit meaning of atext , often aliterary one, or aspeech ordialogue .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I read that as a clear statement that she still holds to her transphobic views – and the subtext is as obnoxious as it is heavy-handed and unoriginal.
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No, no, Andy, the subtext is the moral ambiguity of the right who shut down social programs to feed the poor while sanctioning school children to pray for them.
While Cathy Adores the Minuet Roger Sutton 2006
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This subtext is also interesting considering how Barry's later opera, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, raises these issues again when dealing with the subject matter of Fassbinder's film and its all female cast.
Archive 2006-11-01 2006
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 Submerged in subtext, The White Ribbon is a fantastic film that offers no easy answers and a future both inescapable and inexplicable.
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As they discuss paint-color choices, the subtext is clear.
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The hilarious subtext is that the pirate ship is home to a cast of homosexual men (including denizens such as Peter Poop who has a wine-cork for a nose).
Aargh? Roger Sutton 2009
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The latter, in subtext, read; ` Police officers did everything possible to prevent the death of Kevin Kenna at his home … … .. ` but this was actually a quote from the IPCC.
A Spade Is A Spade. « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
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Sure, fine, but when the subtext is written in red neon, it's kind of beside the point.
Stefan Beck: Must Be Jelly: Yeaworth's The Blob Stefan Beck 2010
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I don't watch Supernatural so I don't know if the subtext is intentional or not.
Supernatural's Gay Incest Subtext rabid1st 2009
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By the way, what master of subtext is picking Bristol's musical selections?
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