As a writer, I’m always looking for new ways to approach narrative structures. I’m constantly trying to figure out how I can get my story across to most people in the simplest way. That’s why I was so excited to stumble upon Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory and even more excited to explain it to you, here.
It’s a technique coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway that will be at the forefront of my thoughts when I sit down to write my next spec screenplay.
Let’s dive into the theory.
Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory Definition
Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory is a writing technique where the deeper meaning of a story is not explicitly stated but is implied through what you see on the surface of the narrative.
It’s also called “the theory of omission.”
Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory
So, where did this iceberg idea come from?
The actual theory is taken from Ernest Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon and reads:
If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.
The theory here uses the analogy of an iceberg, where only a small portion is visible above water while the majority lies hidden beneath the surface.
The idea is we show that surface in our writing, but we add subtext to inform the audience about what’s deeper down below the waves,
The deeper meaning and complexities are left unsaid, to be inferred by the reader.
The goal of doing this is that by omitting certain details and explanations, the writer can create a resonance for the reader.
When Time Magazine asked about symbolism in his work, Hemingway explained:
No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in … That kind of symbol sticks out like raisins in raisin bread. Raisin bread is all right, but plain bread is better. … I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea, a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things. The hardest thing is to make something really true and sometimes truer than true.
How Filmmakers Use Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory
We covered all of the writing techniques, but how are filmmakers supposed to use this theory?
Well, when you boil it down, Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory is about showing rather than telling.
And that’s the number one rule of visual storytelling in film and TV.
It’s about trusting the audience to understand the deeper meaning of the story through subtle cues and implications.
So filmmakers should read this theory and see what they can put into every frame that will communicate these ideas to the audience. How can they add in themes that resonate or visual motifs?
What’s a way they can show us what someone is going through without lazy dialogue telling us?
Attack this stuff head on and you can make a subtle film that gives an actor a lot of room to work.
Summing Up Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory
At the end of the day, this advice and theory work well for writers and filmmakers. You want to show stuff on the surface and then leave something open to interpretation.
We’re constantly trying to understand character motivations and finding ways to communicate that to the audience.
Hopefully, this helps you tackle the next steps in your work.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
