Central topic, subject, or message within a narrative

Theme (narrative)

Theme (narrative)

In contemporary <a href="/en/Literary_studies" title="Literary studies" class="mw-redirect wl">literary studies</a>, a theme is a central <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/topic" title="wikt:topic" class="extiw" target="_blank">topic</a>, subject, or message within a <a href="/en/Narrative" title="Narrative" class="wl">narrative</a>.<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject".<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> Themes are often distinguished from <a href="/en/Premise_(narrative)" title="Premise (narrative)" class="wl">premises</a>.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Central topic, subject, or message within a narrative</div>
The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (for example, love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are <a href="/en/Social_conflict" title="Social conflict" class="wl">conflict</a> between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; <a href="/en/Nostalgia" title="Nostalgia" class="wl">nostalgia</a>; and the dangers of unchecked ambition.<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a>[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:AUDIENCE" title="Wikipedia:AUDIENCE" class="mw-redirect wl">example needed</a>] A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the thematic idea of loneliness in <a href="/en/John_Steinbeck" title="John Steinbeck" class="wl">John Steinbeck</a>'s <a href="/en/Of_Mice_and_Men" title="Of Mice and Men" class="wl">Of Mice and Men</a>, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thesis" title="wikt:thesis" class="extiw" target="_blank">thesis</a>—the text's or author's implied worldview.<a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a>[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:AUDIENCE" title="Wikipedia:AUDIENCE" class="mw-redirect wl">example needed</a>]

A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as <a href="/en/Ethical_issues" title="Ethical issues" class="mw-redirect wl">ethical questions</a>, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly.<a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> An example of this would be whether one should live a seemingly better life, at the price of giving up parts of one's humanity, which is a theme in <a href="/en/Aldous_Huxley" title="Aldous Huxley" class="wl">Aldous Huxley</a>'s <a href="/en/Brave_New_World" title="Brave New World" class="wl">Brave New World</a>. Along with <a href="/en/Plot_(narrative)" title="Plot (narrative)" class="wl">plot</a>, <a href="/en/Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)" class="wl">character</a>, <a href="/en/Setting_(fiction)" title="Setting (fiction)" class="mw-redirect wl">setting</a>, and <a href="/en/Style_(fiction)" title="Style (fiction)" class="mw-redirect wl">style</a>, theme is considered one of the <a href="/en/Literary_element" title="Literary element" class="wl">components</a> of <a href="/en/Fiction" title="Fiction" class="wl">fiction</a>.<a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a>

In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. Themes are often distinguished from premises. The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word . Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as ethical questions, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly. 