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Theme/Meaning
The theme of a piece of literature is its controlling meaning, major idea, or central
insight. Theme usually has to do with life, society, or human nature – it attempts to
answer the big, existential questions we spend most of our lives trying to resolve.
Writers don’t write stories just to get a point across. In fact, most writers are unaware of
the full meaning of what they are writing until they are several drafts into the story. Once
theme emerges, an author’s task isn’t to argue the theme, give a sermon about it, or even
to state it, but to make it come alive. Writers want readers to “get it” on a physical and
emotional level as well as on an intellectual level. For this reason, the theme of a piece of
literature is usually implied, and there is no single (correct) way of summing up a work’s
theme. Keep this in mind so that you use appropriate tone when you write about theme.
Levels of Meaning in Literature
Literal meaning: Face value. The text means what it says.
Figurative meaning: The author uses figures of speech, or tropes, such as metaphors,
similes, and oxymorons to compare or contrast two things thus infusing words or images
with more meaning.
Symbolic meaning: (We’ve already covered this) A person, place, or thing stands for a
more abstract concept or idea.
Allegorical meaning: Each character, place, object and event represents something else
as the author shapes an extended symbol. Dante’s Inferno. Pilgrim’s Progress.
Thematic meaning: The story’s central insight that usually address a universal and
timeless issue.
Find the theme by:
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noticing the title of the story. Authors often choose titles that point readers
toward the meaning of the story as a whole.
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paying attention to what a first-person narrator says and how he/she is
characterized.
What opinions does the narrate make about the circumstances and situations
he/she recounts? Is the narrator reliable?
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studying what the other characters say.
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determining whether the protagonist changes or develops an important insight.
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examining the figures of speech that the author uses. Authors often imply theme
by setting a tone with metaphors, similes and other figures of speech.
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looking at how the characters may exemplify ideas and values through their
actions. Often authors use characters as short hand for expressing ideas.
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looking for details in the story that might have symbolic meaning.
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paying attention to tone shifts – especially in poetry.
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by asking: What insight does this story reveal?
State your theme:
Because a theme is an assertion, it needs to be stated as a complete sentence. (You
can use two sentences if necessary. The theme should convey a generalization about
life. Don’t limit it to the particular circumstances or details of the story, novel of
poem in question. At the same time be precise in stating your theme and avoid using
sweeping generalizations. (every all always, never) You can use two sentences. Do
not use clichés.
Test your theme by asking:
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Does the theme unify plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols and all
other elements of the story? (The theme should not be contradicted by any detail
of the work.) Does it account for every detail of a short story or poem? Does it
turn up over and over again in a longer work of fiction?
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Is the theme based within the work, NOT on facts and events outside of the story
or poem including your personal experiences, attitudes and values?
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Can you express your theme as a sentence that is an assertion? If not, you have
probably found the subject or a motif.
A motif may look like a theme, but it is not theme. Motif is a recurring image, word,
phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout the work. It serves to unify the
work by tying the current situation to previous ones. Motif can be expressed as a word or
phrase. It is not an assertion.
Theme Vocab:
allegorical meaning
figurative meaning
figures of speech
literal meaning
metaphor
oxymoron
simile
symbolic meaning
thematic meaning
theme
tone shift
trope