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Analyzing Theme

Theme – the central ideas, values, message or meaning presented in a work of literature. Theme reveals the connection between literature and our world

In literature, author often express universal ideas such as love and hate, good and evil, innocence and experience, communication and isolation, life and death, society and the individual.  Interpreting theme requires explaining what the work has to say about some general subject like love, prejudice or courage.

A theme statement is a full sentence or sentences that clearly states how the universal idea applies to all people. Generally, it is an observation of human behavior. Typically, full length works have more than one theme for the author is commenting on more than one idea.

Our interpretations of theme must always be supported by evidence from the text. Themes may be revealed in a number of ways:

✓ Does the title indicate theme?

✓ Are themes revealed in direct statements by the author? (This is most commonly done in nonfiction pieces like the Declaration of Independence.)

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✓ Are themes revealed in direct statements by a narrator in the work?

Remember that the speaker's voice (or persona) in a story or poem usually should not be equated with the author's voice. The narrator may be unreliable or may express ideas quite different from the author's own values.

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✓ Are themes revealed through actions, dramatic statements or personalities of characters?

If characters convey conflicting values, which values does the whole work seem to be defending?

Sometimes a character's main function is to symbolize an abstract quality, such as greed or honesty or laziness. Remember that names are sometimes symbolic, in obvious or subtle ways.

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✓ Are there other symbols, images, and descriptive details in the work that suggest themes? Look for repeated words and images as clues to theme.

✓ Are there characters or events or other details that seem to have no importance in the plot of a story? In good literature, these details are there for a reason; they probably have a special thematic significance.

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✓ What ideas are implied by the total impression of the whole work?

Sometimes theme is revealed only when the work is viewed as a whole.

Ways to Uncover Theme

✓ Check out the title.

✓ Sometimes it tells you a lot about the theme.

✓ Notice repeating patterns and symbols. Sometimes these lead you to the theme.

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✓ What allusions are made throughout the story?

✓ What are the details and particulars in the story? What greater meaning may they have?

Much of the information on this page is adapted from

Characteristics of a Good Theme Statement

A successful theme statement must be general enough to capture the overall meaning of the work, but specific enough so that it conveys your unique interpretation.

In a sense, every literary work makes a statement or has a point. The theme statement should be a complete sentence that names the topic and explains it. "Love" (for example) is not a theme statement. “Love can conquer the greatest evil” or “Love, if taken to extremes, can be harmful instead of joyous” are theme statements.

✓ The theme statement should describe the general meaning of the work, not the specific events, actions, or characters.

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✓ The theme statement should reflect the values of the entire work, not just one or two episodes or lines. In particular, look at the end of the work to make sure that the story's outcome matches what you think its general meaning is.



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