Unit 1

• The theme is the main idea or message of a literary work.
• A universal truth.
• A significant statement a story is making about society, human nature, or the human condition.
• Theme is not the subject of the work but instead is an insight about life or human nature.

• There are several different types of theme.
 stated theme: a message that is stated directly or is immediately obvious to the reader
 Implied theme: a message that is not stated and must be inferred by the reader
 recurring theme: a theme that can be found in different texts, often of the same time period or culture
 universal theme: a theme that is found throughout all of literature, in different cultures and in different time periods

• Motif is an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work.
• A motif can be seen as an image, sound, action or other figures that have symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of theme.
• Motif and theme are linked in a literary work but there is a difference between them.
• Authors use motifs to reinforce theme.
• Basically a motif will help develop the theme, but it is not the theme!

• The main idea or message of a literary work.
• Think of theme as the life lesson the reader learns from the story.
• An image, sound, action or other figures that have symbolic significance.
• Contributes toward the development of theme.
• Authors use motifs to reinforce theme.

• A symbol usually is a person, place, thing, or idea that stands for something else.
• Symbols are used deliberately to reinforce meaning.
• A symbol may have more than one meaning, or its meaning may change from the beginning to the end of a literary work.

• How many symbols can you associate these images with? What can these images represent?

• Motifs are images, ideas, sounds or words that help to explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme.
• A motif is a recurring element.
• Symbols are images, ideas, sounds or words that represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing.
• A symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work

• Think of your favorite movie.
• Once you have it write a couple of sentences that summarize the movie and also explains what you think is the theme of the movie.
• Try to make your theme statement one sentence only!
• Be prepared to share these with your group.