Mr. Bazilewich's English Page
Thinking, Talking and Writing
About Theme
Theme is the term used to describe the central idea of a literary work. However, many readers often oversimplify theme when analyzing and discussing a work of literature. When thinking, talking and/or writing about theme, keep in mind the following principles:
1.) Theme should be expressible in the form of a statement with a subject and a predicate.
It is insufficient to simply say that the theme of a story is love, or family, or death. Love, family and death are simply subjects. Theme must be a statement about the subject. If we express theme in the form of a phrase, the phrase must be convertible to a sentence. For example, a phrase such as “the futility of anger” can be converted to the statement, “Anger is often futile.”
2.) The theme should be stated as a generalization about life.
In stating a theme, we do not use the names of characters or refer to specific places or events; to do so would make a specific–rather than a general–statement.
3.) Generalizations about theme must not be larger than is justified by the terms of the story.
Terms like every, always, will, must and all should generally be avoided when talking about theme; terms like some, sometimes, may are more accurate and suitable when discussing theme. On rare occasions, an author may intentionally present a theme as a universal generalization, but we must be careful before making such assumptions.
4.) Theme is the central and unifying concept of a story.
Theme (i) accounts for all the major details of the story; (ii) it is not contradicted by any detail of the story; and (iii) it cannot rely upon supposed facts–facts not actually stated or clearly implied by the story. Theme exists inside, not outside, of the story; the statement must be based on the story itself, not on assumptions supplied by the reader’s own experience(s).
5.) There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
Since a theme statement merely presents a (generalized) view of life, there are obviously numerous ways to express the central idea of a story.
6.) We should avoid using any statement that reduces the theme to a familiar saying.
Cliches may express a theme accurately, but they are frequently indications of lazy thinking and writing. For example, instead of “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” we could say, “People are often deceived by first impressions.”
So, how does this apply to essays and exams……?
• In a literary essay, it is often a good idea to open with a theme statement, and then “focus down” to your thesis statement (remembering, of course, to identify the title and author of the text you are analysis somewhere in the middle of your introduction).
• For short paragraph responses (or “stand-alone” written responses, as they are called on the English 12 Provincial Exam), you can choose to open with a theme statement, and the follow up with your topic sentence (again, which must included the title and author of the text being analyzed).
Sample opening for a short paragraph response on Mark Twain’s “Two Ways of Seeing a River”:
The wisdom that comes with experience will often change a person’s perspective of the world. In Mark Twain’s “Two Ways of Seeing a River”, Twain illustrates—through the uses of vivid detail and figurative language—how his time working on a riverboat forever altered his ability to see only the beauty in the natural world.
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