Today every actor understands what is meant by “subtext.” But it is a new word. It is not listed in The New English Dictionary or its Supplement of 1939. It comes from the Moscow Art Theatre and is associated with the “Method.” When we use the word, we are usually talking about twentieth century acting, an art distinguished by its conscious attempt to portray the subconscious nature of man, its “psychological” truth. For Stanislavsky, “subtext” was:

He used the word as a means of talking about the “inner truth” of a play, its “inner action,” “inner images,” “inner motives,” “inner line,” “inner tempo.” And all these concepts were particularly applicable to the revolutionary plays of Chekhov.