ENG III/ Bailey
Name: ____________________________________________
CW: Textual, Contextual & Sub-textual Meaning w/ Inferences
Date: _______
Period: _____
Throughout this year, we are going to spend a significant amount of time reading and responding to a
variety of texts. To excel in this class, it is essential for you to learn how to read with different lenses,
learn how to think critically about what you read, and how to analyze what it means. Authors are seldom
upfront about what they want the reader to take away from their text.
Key terms
TEXT: the actual words, symbols or images presented to an audience.
CONTEXT: Context refers to those particular elements of a situation in which the text is created and
interpreted that in some way or another affects its initial meaning (for example, the effects of time,
place, ideology, social hierarchies, relationships, etc.).
Contextual Examples:
A letter from a manager to one of his staff will be affected by context such as the situation itself, the
power relationship that exists between the manager and the worker, the historical conditions and so
on. Another example, when you speak to your parents or when you speak to a friend on the phone
you will see that context naturally affects the linguistic choices - the style - of the discourse in
important ways.
SUBTEXT: Subtext is an underlying meaning or theme in a piece of writing. Subtext is a
message that is not stated directly (implicitly) but can be inferred. In other words, the author does
not overtly tell you the meaning, you have to figure out the meaning by the words the author
leaves behind as clues.
Sub-Textual Example:
A husband comes home late after a long day (and night) at the office. He’s drunk, hair tousled, a
lipstick smudge on his collar. He walks in exhausted, puts down his briefcase, hangs his hat and
coat, and enters the kitchen, where his wife washes dishes like they were bongo drums. The
husband asks, “You okay, honey.” She coldly responds, “Fine!”
KEY POINTS:
Authors don't write subtext, because subtext is what people don’t say. To put it another way:
1. What authors write is text.
2. The things that authors mean, is subtext.
***Subtext exists within a context. The more we know, the more the subtext
resonates.***
ENG III/ Bailey
Let’s TRY TOGETHER!
Directions: Read the following text, and then try to decipher the context and sub-textual
meaning. Keep in mind, you will receive more contextual information to see how the sub-textual
meaning changes.
A Little Context…
A MAN is ordering at a fast-food counter. The young cashier stares, expressionless. Here's the
dialogue without further context.
TEXT:
MAN: Wait, no. Did I say double cheeseburger?
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: Changed my mind. Single.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: With catsup.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: But not a lot of catsup. Just enough to taste it.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: And fries. No, onion rings. No, wait. Fries.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: Fresh ones. I don't like when they've been sitting under a heat lamp.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: And no salt.
KID: Yes, sir.
MAN: Well, maybe a little salt.
What do you think is the sub-textual situation here (what is being revealed here that is not
directly stated)? Think about the characters and their actions. What might that reveal about
them?
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A Little More Context…
"The camera" pulls back to reveal the customer holding a gun beneath the counter, and it's
pointing at the young cashier.
ENG III/ Bailey
With this new contextual meaning added to this scene, which parts of the dialogue changes in
meaning? In other words, in this context, which parts of the dialogue add more to the sub-textual
meaning?
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Now YOU TRY!
Independent Practice
A Little Context:
HE and SHE are at an expensive restaurant, celebrating their first wedding
anniversary.
TEXT:
SHE: Wow. Fancy place.
HE: Happy anniversary, honey.
SHE: You too. (Smiles and picks up her napkin.) Look at these napkins. They're huge. Feels like
linen.
HE: I wanted it to be nice.
SHE: Can we afford this place?
HE: Don't worry about that. Let's try to have a good time for once.
SHE: I'm underdressed.
HE: You look beautiful.
SHE: Excuse me. (Pushes back her chair.)
HE: You okay?
SHE: Fine. I'll be right back.
(SHE goes into the bathroom. It's a luxurious bathroom, and looks as if it had been dipped in
gold leaf. SHE stumbles into a stall and throws up in the toilet. She pulls herself together, looks
at herself in the mirror. After a short while, she returns to the table.)
HE: There she is. I thought maybe you fell in.
SHE: You should see the bathroom. It's bigger than our entire apartment.
HE: Try to relax, honey. (Raises a glass) To us.
SHE: To us. (She throws back the wine in a single gulp.)
HE: I love you.
SHE: I love you, too.
ENG III/ Bailey
What do you think is the sub-textual situation here (what is being revealed here that is not
directly stated)? Think about the characters and their actions. What might that reveal about
them?
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A Little More Context…
Just before coming to the restaurant, this couple argued about money.
With this new contextual meaning added to this scene, which parts of the dialogue changes in
meaning? In other words, in this context, which parts of the dialogue add more to the sub-textual
meaning?
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EVEN MORE CONTEXT…
SHE is pregnant. HE doesn't know it. HE plans to file for bankruptcy in the
morning. SHE doesn't know it. (SHE goes into the bathroom. It's a luxurious
bathroom, and looks as if it had been dipped in gold leaf. SHE stumbles into a
stall and throws up in the toilet. She pulls herself together, splashes water on
her face, and reaches for a hand towel in a basket by the sink. The hand towel
is thick, expensive cotton. She fingers it longingly. She looks at herself in the
mirror. Then she opens her purse and puts all the hand towels in it, closes her
purse. After a short while, she returns to the table.)
Once again, with this new contextual meaning added to this scene, which parts of the dialogue
changes in meaning? In other words, in this context, which parts of the dialogue add more to the
sub-textual meaning?
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ENG III/ Bailey
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MOVING TO THE NEXT
LEVEL…
What Is An Inference?
An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. In essence, you make an
inference based on the sub-textual meaning.
How Do Readers Make Inferences?
Writers often do not state the way a character feels explicitly. Instead, writers will include details
about how a character acts and readers must use these details to make inferences about the
character’s emotions (Sounds familiar? It should; this involves looking at the context to get more subtextual meaning). When you infer, you use observations, prior knowledge and experiences, and
details from the text to make connections and come up with ideas.
Examples of Inferences: (SIMPLE)
1. The baby was asleep upstairs in his bed. Suddenly, I heard a loud, "THUMP!" and he began crying
hysterically. I ran upstairs because I inferred that he fell out of bed.
2. In third grade, you cannot be promoted to fourth grade unless you pass the final exam. My
classmate said she was going back to third grade again. I know she's got o.k. grades, so inferred that
she failed her final exam.
3. Just because the famous actor was seen in a jewelry store, all the tabloids inferred he's going to
ask his singer girlfriend to marry him.
Your Turn: (Sophisticated)
It has been proposed (& debunked) that Ernest Hemingway, author of The Old
Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms, wrote a 6-word memoir (short
autobiographical story) to prove in a bet that it could be done. Whether this
accusation is true or not, I want you to write as many inferences as possible
about the underlying meaning found within this 6 word memoir.
*** By the way, I’m not giving you much context for this one. You might have to
invent the context of the words and then find more sub-textual meaning. ***
ENG III/ Bailey
FOR SALE: Baby shoes. Never worn.
Write Inferences Here: