Theme: Definition and Examples Study Guide

Definition and Core Concepts of Theme

Theme is a foundational element in literature, essays, and narratives. It represents the central idea, topic, or overarching point of a story.

  • Initial Inquiry: When a story is written, the primary questions asked are often, "What’s it about?" or "What’s the point?"
  • Scope of Content: The answers to these questions constitute the theme. Themes can range from broad human experiences to highly specific concepts:
    • Broad examples: Love, betrayal, coming of age, or the haziness of memory.
    • Specific examples: The relationship between humankind and technology.
  • General Characteristics: Just as life is not constantly focused on a single pursuit, themes are not always constantly present. They may weave in and out, disappear, or emerge unexpectedly in the middle of a reading.

Illustrative Examples of Themes in General Narratives

  • Science Fiction Scenario: A man driven by an urge for power and control due to pride builds a supercomputer that proceeds to take over the world, causing chaos and struggle.
    • Theme 1: The danger of excessive pride.
    • Theme 2: The risky relationship between humankind and developing technology.
  • Romance Scenario: A boy and a girl fall in love, but the boy must join the army and fight for survival in a war-torn country. The beloved waits at home; eventually, they are reunited and married.
    • Theme 1: The power of true love.
    • Theme 2: Fate, which can tear lovers apart and later join them together.

Types of Theme: Major and Minor

Themes are categorized based on their duration and significance within the narrative structure.

  • Major Themes:

    • These are the most significant, important, and enduring themes of a narrative.
    • They typically color the entire story and are part of the narrative from beginning to end.
    • Example (War Book): A major theme might be the effect of war on humanity.
    • Example (Romance Novel): A major theme is typically love.

  • Minor Themes:

    • These are less important and less enduring than major themes.
    • They may appear for only a portion of the narrative before being replaced by other minor themes.
    • They serve as discussion points for specific chapters or scenes rather than the entire work.
    • Example (War Book): Minor themes might include the home front’s reaction to war or the specific political aspects of the conflict.
    • Example (Romance Novel): Minor themes could include flirtation, marriage, and fidelity.

The Importance of Using Theme

Theme is considered an unparalleled element of narrative for several reasons:

  • Underlying Meaning: It is the underlining idea an author conveys to the audience.
  • Purpose of Storytelling: A story without major ideas for the character and reader to think through, experience, and learn from is not considered a true story. Themes provide the "deeper reason" for a story being written and shared.
  • Engagement: Themes are the central ideas that book clubs, poets, playwrights, literature students, film enthusiasts, and creative writers analyze in-depth.

Examples of Theme in Literature and Poetry

  • Case Study 1: ‘i carry your heart with me(i carry it in)’ by E. E. Cummings

    • Verbatim Poem Text:         i carry your heart with me(i carry it in         my heart)i am never without it(anywhere         i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done         by only me is your doing,my darling)         i fear         no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)         no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want         no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)         and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant         and whatever a sun will always sing is you         here is the deepest secret nobody knows         (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud         and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows         higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)         and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart         i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
    • Analysis: The major theme is love. Minor themes include fate, togetherness, and desire.

  • Case Study 2: ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan

    • Verbatim Excerpt: ‘How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God? There is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled with, or that can forgive her. There is nothing outside her. In her imagination she has set the limits and the terms. No atonement for God, or novelists, even if they are atheists. It was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all.’
    • Analysis: The major theme is explicitly stated in the title: Atonement. Minor themes include the life of the writer and forgiveness.

Examples of Theme in Pop Culture

  • Godzilla (Official Main Trailer):

    • Main Theme: Nature as a powerful and destructive force to be reckoned with.
    • Other Themes: Human effect on nature, fear of the unknown, and hubris.

  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Official Trailer):

    • Main Theme: Positivity in the face of a bad day, acknowledging that bad days happen to everyone.
    • Other Themes: Family, perseverance, and love.

Related Terms and Distinctions

Theme vs. Moral
  • Moral: A moral is the main message or lesson to be learned from a cautionary story (common in fables). It is an instruction.
  • Theme: A theme is an idea to be examined or explored; it does not necessarily serve to teach a lesson.
  • Comparison Example:
    • Theme: Love.
    • Moral: Love others the way you would like to be loved.
Theme vs. Motif
  • Motif: Motifs are recurring images, objects, or smaller ideas that repeat within a story to emphasize the theme and the mood.
  • Comparison Example:
    • Theme: Regret.
    • Motifs: A man struggling with regret may experience motifs such as dark dreams, repetitive thoughts, and dark lighting to highlight the pervasiveness of the regret.

Alphabetical Glossary of Related Literary Terms

The following terms are frequently associated with narrative analysis and theme development:

  • A-C: Action, Ad Hominem, Adage, Adventure, Allegory, Alliteration, Allusion, Alter Ego, Ambiguity, Amplification, Anachronism, Anagram, Analogy, Anaphora, Anecdote, Antagonist, Anthimeria, Anthropomorphism, Antithesis, Antonomasia, APA Citation, Aphorism, Aphorismus, Apologia, Apologue, Aporia, Aposiopesis, Appositive, Archaism, Archetype, Argument, Assonance, Asyndeton, Atmosphere, Autobiography, Ballad, Bathos, Bildungsroman, Burlesque, Buzzword, Cacophony, Caesura, Catharsis, Character, Characterization, Chiasmus, Chronicle, Chronology, Circumlocution, Clich, Cliffhanger, Climax, Coherence, Comedy, Comic Relief, Connotation, Consonance, Contrast, Conundrum, Cynicism.
  • D-F: Denotation, Denouement, Deus ex machina, Deuteragonist, Diacope, Dialect, Dialogue, Diction, Dilemma, Doppelganger, Double Entendre, Drama, Dramatic irony, Dystopia, Elegy, Ellipsis, Encomium, Enjambment, Enthymeme, Epigram, Epilogue, Epiphany, Epistrophe, Epitaph, Epithet, Eponym, Equivocation, Essay, Etymology, Euphemism, Exemplum, Excursus, Exposition, Extended Metaphor, Fable, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Farce, Figures of Speech, Flash-forward, Flashback, Folklore, Foreshadowing, Foreword.
  • G-M: Genre, Haiku, Hamartia, Harangue, Homage, Homograph, Homophone, Horror, Hubris, Hyperbaton, Hyperbole, Idiom, Imagery, Innuendo, Inference, Intertextuality, Invective, Irony, Jargon, Juxtaposition, Kairos, Legend, Limerick, Lingo, Literary Device, Litotes, Malapropism, Maxim, Melodrama, Memoir, Metanoia, Metaphor, Metonymy, Mnemonic, Monologue, Montage, Motif, Motto, Mystery, Myth.
  • N-S: Narrative, Narrator, Nemesis, Neologism, Nostalgia, Ode, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron, Palindrome, Parable, Paradox, Parallelism, Paraphrase, Parody, Pastiche, Pathetic Fallacy, Pejorative, Peripeteia, Persona, Personification, Plagiarism, Platitude, Pleonasm, Plot, Plot Twist, Poetry, Point of View, Polemic, Polyptoton, Polysyndeton, Premise, Prologue, Propaganda, Prose, Protagonist, Proverb, Pseudonym, Pun, Quest, Rebus, Red Herring, Repetition, Resolution, Rhetoric, Rhetorical Device, Rhetorical Question, Rhyme, Riddle, Romance, Sarcasm, Sardonic, Satire, Science Fiction, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Setting, Simile, Soliloquy, Sonnet, Stanza, Stereotype, Story, Style, Subtext, Surrealism, Symbol, Synecdoche, Synesthesia, Synonym, Synopsis.
  • T-Z: Tautology, THEME, Thesis, Thriller, Tone, Tragedy, Trope, Truism, Turning Point, Understatement, Urban Legend, Utopia, Verisimilitude, Vernacular, Vignette, Villain, Voice, Wit, Wordplay, Zeugma.

Closing Summary

Technically, themes enliven narratives with deeper meaning found in both real life and fiction. They ensure stories are not dull but remain compelling and emotional experiences. Themes are essentially the ideas that run through narratives and maintain the connection between the reader and the artistic intent.