In
philology, a
commentary is a line-by-line or even word-by-word explication usually attached to an
edition of a text in the same or an accompanying volume. It may draw on
methodologies of
close reading and
literary criticism, but its primary purpose is to elucidate the language of the text and the specific culture that produced it, both of which may be foreign to the reader. Such a commentary usually takes the form of
footnotes,
endnotes, or separate text cross-referenced by line, paragraph or page.