Back موضوع (سرد) Arabic طيم (أداب) ARY Tema literari Catalan Thema (Literatur) German Literatura temo Esperanto Tema literario Spanish درون‌مایه Persian Teema (kirjallisuus) Finnish Thème (littérature) French Tema (fiksje) Frisian

Theme (narrative)

In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative.[1] Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject".[2] Themes are often distinguished from premises.

The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (for example, love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition.[3] A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the thematic idea of loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the thesis—the text's or author's implied worldview.[4][example needed]

A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as ethical questions, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly.[5] An example of this would be whether one should live a seemingly better life, at the price of giving up parts of one's humanity, which is a theme in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of the components of fiction.[6]

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, retrieved January 26, 2012
  2. ^ Griffith, Kelley (2010), Writing Essays about Literature (8 ed.), Cengage Learning, p. 40, ISBN 978-1428290419, retrieved February 10, 2013
  3. ^ Kirszner, Laura G.; Mandell, Stephen R. (1994), Fiction: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Paulinas, pp. 3–4, ISBN 015501014X, retrieved February 11, 2013
  4. ^ Weitz, Morris (2002), "Literature Without Philosophy: "Antony and Cleopatra"", Shakespeare Survey, vol. 28, Cambridge University Press, p. 30, ISBN 0521523656, retrieved February 10, 2013
  5. ^ Kerr, John (2022-07-06). "The 3 Essential Elements of Plot Every Writer Should Know". Writer's Hive Media. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  6. ^ Obstfeld (2002, pp. 1, 65, 115, 171)

Developed by StudentB