Subtext: The Silence That Speaks

Understanding Subtext with Examples

Let’s get one thing straight: dialogue is never just about what’s being said. If it is, your scene’s in trouble.

Subtext is what lives underneath. It’s what’s really going on - emotionally, psychologically, spiritually - while characters talk about the weather, argue about dinner, or debate the ethics of a revolution. Subtext is the heartbeat under the conversation, and if you’re not tuning into it, your script might sound fine but feel hollow.

And audiences don’t fall in love with what a character says. They fall in love with why they’re saying it.

Let’s get into a bunch of examples…