The difference between context and subtext.

Question

The difference between context and subtext.

In: Other

Answer 1

Context is all the outside factors surrounding or influencing something. Subtext is the theme or message something has but doesn’t state outright.

For instance, let’s say you’re looking at a political cartoon from 1970. To understand the context, you’d read about the Nixon administration, the Vietnam War, pop culture at the time, and so on, to better understand the political climate at the time it was drawn. To understand the subtext, you’d study the cartoon itself to better understand what the cartoonist’s beliefs are and what he’s trying to communicate.