By Theme - Thematic Approaches
What is the main idea or controlling theme of the work of literature? What does the work "mean"? Does it say something about life, death, love, happiness..? Are there repeating patterns and symbols? A theme is a recurrent idea with a certain amount of universality. We study the main ideas of stories, and compare them to other works through history to discover what writers have to say about life, death, loneliness, sadness, hope, and other themes related to society, human nature, and beyond.
Dying & Death - Theme (12)
Mother-Daughter - Theme (7)
Fate - Theme (4)
Patriotic / Heroic - Theme (2)
Father-Son - Theme (1)
Peace / Non-violence Theme (6)
Hero & Heroism - Theme (5)
Sex - Theme (5)
Isolation & Exile - Theme (11)
Terrorism / Violence Theme (3)
Life - Theme (9)
Time - Theme (11)
Love - Theme (15)
Identify the Theme
A theme is a central or underlying idea in literature. The writer may express insight about humanity or a world view. Before you attempt to identify the theme of a work, you must have first read the work, and you should understand at least the basics about the plot, characterizations, and other literary elements. Here's how to identify the theme of a work of literature.
A theme is a central or underlying idea in literature. The writer may express insight about humanity or a world view. Before you attempt to identify the theme of a work, you must have first read the work, and you should understand at least the basics about the plot, characterizations, and other literary elements. Here's how to identify the theme of a work of literature.