Theme

What is Theme?

Theme is the universal message that the author wants to convey through his fiction, poem, or film.

Universal ideas that are similar to theme in fiction are morals and parable teachings.

Fable: its theme is its moral

Parable: its theme is its teaching

Fiction: its theme is its view of life and how people behave

1) Theme is the general truth that the author expresses to the reader.

2) In fiction, the theme is not intended to teach or preach. It does not give instructions: “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.

3) It is not presented directly at all, you must figure it out from the literary elements.

Theme is where all the literary come together to give you the ultimate reward!

In order to identify theme it is helpful to identify some of these literary elements:

Conflict, setting, character motivation, events that move the plot along, what the narrator says, what the characters learn, imagery and figurative language.

Common themes found in literature are: love, hate, jealousy

greed, pride, embarrassment

desire, pain, fear, hunger

obligation, curiosity, anger,