sottotesto

Sottotesto is the Italian term for subtext: the set of meanings, associations, and assumptions that are not stated openly in a text but are conveyed through language, imagery, and structure. Subtext includes attitudes toward characters, social norms, or ideological positions that the author implies rather than asserts. The concept is central to literary analysis, film studies, theatre, and discourse analysis, where readers and viewers interpret what lies beneath the explicit storyline or dialogue.

Etymology: the word derives from sotto, meaning under, and testo, meaning text. It is distinct from sottotitolo, which refers to subtitles that appear on screen or describe a work, and from the literal text itself. Subtext is an interpretive layer, often dependent on context, culture, and genre.

Methods and usage: scholars use close reading, attention to diction, symbolism, pacing, and narrative omissions to identify subtext. Analyses may examine historical context, authorial voice, and audience reception to understand underlying meanings. Critics caution against over-interpretation and emphasize supporting inferences with textual or visual evidence.

Examples: in novels, subtext can reveal power relations or unspoken desires that the surface plot does not state; in film, visual motifs, editing, or performance can imply critique of institutions even when dialogue presents a different surface story.

See also: subtext; implied meaning; close reading.