Subtext | Definition & Examples

In literature, subtext refers to the hidden or implicit meaning in a text. It can be described as what is left unsaid, but which is nevertheless essential to understanding the deeper meaning in a piece of writing.

Subtext is closely related to other literary devices such as euphemism (or understatement) , sarcasm, and symbolism. One of the lowest forms of subtext (in my opinion) is the pun and its vulgar little brother, the double entendre. 

Let’s look at a quote from Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2: 

OPHELIA: You are keen, my lord, you are keen.

HAMLET: It would cost you a groaning to take off my edge.

Here, the subtext is obvious and a bit vulgar. Hamlet is deliberately misinterpreting Ophelia’s meaning in relation to the word “keen” as something sexual in nature by resorting to a game of puns.

She simply means to say that he’s clever. He interprets it as her acknowledging his desire to “lay” with her. In short, the subtext beneath this outwardly polite conversation is sex. 

Now, there are examples of subtext being much deeper and more meaningful than this. We will take a look at a some of them, including from William Blake, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the Trinidadian calypsonian, Lord Kitchener. 

Image of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

What is subtext? 

Subtext is the implied and unspoken meaning in a piece of text in the form of prose, conversation, or character actions. It is essential to teasing out the deeper meaning in works of literature or movies. 

It is also often associated with euphemism or understatement, as well as the concept of “saying more by saying less.” This describes a writer writing in such a way that instead of stating something outright or directly, they depend on the intelligent reader to uncover their hidden meaning. 

I also mentioned earlier how subtext could take the form of other literary devices such as sarcasm. Let’s look at an example of this from The Great Gatsby (published in 1925): 

Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour, while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden. "In case there's a fire or a flood," she explained, "or any act of God.”

What is going on here? The narrating voice is Nick. He is a friend to Gatsby and a cousin to Daisy, two characters who are engaged in an illicit love affair. Daisy is married to Tom, a man with a penchant for violence. 

Asking Nick to remain “watchfully in the garden” means looking out for Tom. Curiously, Daisy is sarcastic and describes the necessity to be watchful as “In case there’s a fire or flood.” 

The subtext here is Tom’s capacity for violence and rage, which Daisy compares to Nature’s wrath. In other words, Tom is being referenced without his name ever being mentioned. 

Examples of subtext 

The first example of subtext we are going to look at is William Blake’s “Song: How sweet I roam'd from field to field” (published in 1783). 

1. William Blake, “How Sweet I Roam’d from Field to Field”:

How sweet I roam'd from field to field,

         And tasted all the summer's pride,

'Till I the prince of love beheld,

         Who in the sunny beams did glide!

He shew'd me lilies for my hair,

         And blushing roses for my brow;

He led me through his gardens fair,

         Where all his golden pleasures grow.

With sweet May dews my wings were wet,

         And Phoebus fir'd my vocal rage;

He caught me in his silken net,

         And shut me in his golden cage.

He loves to sit and hear me sing,

         Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;

Then stretches out my golden wing,

         And mocks my loss of liberty.

The poem at the surface tells the story of some innocent creature falling in love with the Prince of love, presumably Cupid. The first stanza describes the freedom of being single in the first line “How sweet I roam'd from field to field.” 

Stanzas two and three describe how this prince courted this person before shutting her “in his golden cage” (Line 12). The mood in the last stanza changes to one of gloom as the creature in question remains trapped and the “loss of liberty” is mocked.

There are two levels of subtext in the poem. The first is closely related to sexual suggestiveness. Take a look at the following lines: 

He led me through his gardens fair,

Where all his golden pleasures grow.

With sweet May dews my wings were wet,

This is highly suggestive sexual language, which does not come close to approaching the vulgarity of innuendo or double entendre. It can be seen, nevertheless, as subtext suggesting the sexual act. The second level of subtext is related to symbolism. The characters featured in the poem are not humans. The character trapped in the cage is described as possessing wings.

Her imprisoner is described as a prince of love who was gliding in “sunny beams.” As mentioned earlier, this could be Cupid. However, both characters may well be original to the mythic landscape that William Blake has created.

We can assume that these characters are symbols, and exactly what do they mean or represent? The poet is making a commentary on the nature of love. The prince of love ends up imprisoning and mocking his lover’s loss of freedom. 

The subtext lies beneath the behavior of the prince of love. It is symbolic of what the poet believes the true nature of love is, or at least the point he is making about the nature of love in this poem. We can say that Blake portrays love as treacherous, malicious, and imprisoning. 

2. F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby:

Our second example is from The Great Gatsby again. It is a famous passage from the beginning of the novel, even before we meet Gatsby. It uses symbolism as a subtext of how naive Gatsby is in his wish or desire to be with Daisy, his childhood sweetheart, who is already married:

A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding cake of the ceiling—and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea. . . . The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.

This is the introduction to Daisy and her friend Jordan. They are wealthy socialites, and the narrator is describing the luxurious home of Daisy and her husband, Tom.  The entire passage describes the room as something of a fantasy or dream. Nothing in the room seems stationary. The only thing described as stationary — that is, the two women, are “buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon.”

An anchored balloon also gives the impression of something floating and not still. The passage ends with Daisy's husband, Tom Buchanan, slamming the window shut and the wind dying down. Now, this passage can be described as a microcosm of the novel’s entire plot. The dream-like fantasy being depicted here is appropriate. 

Gatsby is in love with Daisy, a woman who is already married. This can be seen in the matrimonial description of the house. For example, “the frosted wedding cake of the ceiling” and “the wine-colored rug” all suggest a wedding ceremony or reception. 

The description of Daisy as a fairy-like thing fluttering in a wind-filled room also serves a purpose. The windy room and fairytale-like atmosphere emphasize the fragile and illusory nature of Gatsby’s dream. Gatsby is a fantasist or a dreamer longing after Daisy, something or someone whom he will never fully have. If you read the novel, you will know that Gatsby is killed through the machinations of Daisy’s husband, Tom.

The passage ending with him shutting the window and killing the wind literally means him punching the hot air out of Gatsby’s delusion. In short, the subtext here alludes to the insubstantial nature of  Gatsby’s dream and desires. 

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3. Lord Kitchener, "Bee’s Melody":

Our third example is neither a poem nor a novel. It is a song from the Trinidadian calypsonian, Lord Kitchener: "Bee's Melody" (released in 2007). Here are the lyrics of the song: 

Climbing up a mountain,

High above the sea,

I find myself approaching

A hive of killer bee

Climbing up a mountain,

High above the sea,

I find myself disturbing

A hive of killer bee

They bite me on meh chin,

Bite me on meh hand.

The noise that they making,

It sound like steel pan.

Because of meh love for music,

I refused to run,

But the bees were not sympathetic

They sting meh for fun.

The song presents what is called a paradox. The bee stings are a source of pain. However, they are inspiring the man being stung to make “sweet” music. Later in the song, he explains: 

Stand up in the bushes,

Leaning on a tree,

Watching all the bruises

The bees put on me,

I say "this is tragic!

Is it wrong or right,

For the sake of music

To take all this bite?"

The song exists on two levels. On the first level, it is a mere silly anecdote that makes us laugh. It is about a man who gets stung by bees, but who would rather stay and dance. The more interesting aspect of the song begins when we question why he stays. He stays because he is sensitive enough to appreciate the melodies the bees make while they sting him. In other words, he has the soul of an artist.

This is where we approach the subtext of the song. The singer is making a commentary on the nature of the relationship between him and music in his role as a Trinidadian calypsonian. Calypso is a notoriously difficult industry for a musician to thrive in in the Caribbean, and the singer may have been expressing his frustrations with the industry through song. On another level, we could also say that there is a universal message in there. 

It’s a message about how artists labor and suffer to make music or art, with little or no financial reward or social recognition. Nonetheless, they persevere because they gain satisfaction from creating art. In that regard, the bee stings would represent the pain associated with making a viable living in music and the beautiful “bee melody”  is the music that the artist remains inspired to make. 

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2025, June 24). Subtext | Definition & Examples. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/subtext