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Literature vocabulary · Core Concepts

Theme

Meaning in literature, with examples

/θiːm/nounCore term

In literature, theme means: A central idea or message about life that a literary work explores, such as love, loss, freedom or identity, and what the work suggests about it.

In Turkish: tema, izlek, ana düşünce

How it is used

Perhaps the most common word in literature classes and essays. Works explore, address, deal with or develop themes; a theme can be central, recurring or universal. Strong essays state a theme as an idea (ambition destroys trust), not just a single word (ambition).

Example sentences

  1. Loneliness in the big city is a recurring theme in her stories.

  2. In your essay, explain how the ending develops the novel's main theme.

Common collocations

  • central theme
  • recurring theme
  • explore a theme
  • universal theme
  • the theme of
  • motifAn image, object, idea or phrase that appears again and again in a work and helps develop its themes.
  • symbolAn object, person, place or event in a text that stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning, such as a journey that represents life.
  • interpretationAn explanation of what a text or a part of it means, supported by evidence from the text; also the act of explaining it.
  • literary analysisA close examination of how a literary text works, looking at elements such as theme, character, structure and language to explain its meaning and effects.

More terms: Core Concepts

Practise with graded reading

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