Lesson 3: Theme and

Rheme:

Information flow in a paragraph:

• Every paragraph has a structure which is
not random. The sentences in that
paragraph are actually related to each
other in meaningful ways to each other.
• To be easily read, the information in the
paragraph must flow easily from one
sentence to another => structure
information clearly + usage of signaling
words to point out what the
writer/speaker wants to say exactly.
Information structure in a
sentence:
Sentences are constituted of:
Theme: (topic, focus of the sentence)
what the writer is writing about; shared
information that has been introduced to
the reader.
Rheme: (comment) what the writer says
about the theme => new information,
what the writer wants to tell to the reader.
What is a Theme?
Theme ("topic" or "given/old
information") and Rheme ("comment"
or "new/introduced information") are
terms which represent how information is
distributed in a sentence.
Theme is what the clause is about, it is
giving information serving as "point of
departure".
The given information is the information
that has already been mentioned
somewhere in the text, or it is shared or
mutual knowledge from the immediate
context. The theme provides the setting
for the remainder of the sentence-Rheme.
Example1: The girl was scared to walk
alone at night. => The girl is the theme.
Example2: The urban legend that my
friend narrated to me the other day is
scary. => The urban legend that my
friend narrated to me the other day is
the theme.
Important to note: Due to the SVO
subject verb object structure of English,
the theme is often the subject (expect in
passive voice).
Side note: in other languages, the theme
can be found in the middle (Irish, Gaelic,
Scottish) or in the end(Fijian, Palauan), or
in the beginning as well(Japanese).

What is a Rheme?
The rheme (comment/focus/new
information) is what follows the theme and
develops the remainder of the message (it
develops the theme). It is what is said
about the theme (new information which
represents knowledge that the reader
does not know, but needs to have in order
to follow the progression of the argument).
The boundary between theme and
rheme is simple: theme is the first
element in a clause ; rheme is the
remainder of the clause.
Let's go back to example1 and example2:
Example1: The girl was scared to walk
alone at night. => was scared to walk
alone at night is the rheme.
Example2: The urban legend that my
friend
narrated to me the other day is scary. =>
is scary is the rheme.
Theme-Rheme relationship produces
Cohesion, making parts of a sentence a
communicative whole.

Thematic progression:
The exchange of information between
successive theme and rheme pairings in a
text in order to achieve communicative
effectiveness in a message. It contributes
to the cohesive development of a text,
meaning that in a cohesive text, the
distribution of given and new information
follows certain patterns.

Thematic progression in an
academic text:
Important to note:
In complex arrangements, rhemes may
become themes later on. Some rhemes
never become themes.
All themes, except the first one, are
formed from previous rhemes, and that
is to keep the Coherence of the text. If
new themes appear that have no
correlation to the previous rhemes or to
the discourse in general, it will confuse the
reader.
Markedness:
Definition: Markedness is the state of
standing out as non typical as opposed
to regular or common.
It is the way words are changed to give or
add special meaning. The unmarked
choice is just the normal meaning.
Example1: unmarked => walk ; marked
=> walked {"ed" marks the past
simple}.
Example2: unmarked => poet ; marked
=> poetess {male things are unmarked
whilst female things are marked =>
men vs women or dog vs bitch.}.

Markedness and Themes:

Unmarked sentence: when the subject
and theme are the same thing. Example:
My mother did the work on Tuesday.(My
mother is the theme and the subject of the
verb do, at the same time.).
Marked sentence: when the theme and
subject are grammatically the same but
functionally not the same. Example: The
work was done Tuesday by my mother.(
the theme is work which is grammatically
still the subject but functionally the patient
in a passive clause (In linguistics, a
grammatical patient, also called the
target or undergoer, is the participant
of a situation upon whom an action is
carried out or the thematic relation
such a participant has with an action.).
The speaker/writer has deliberately
chosen to place the work in theme
position.
Placing an element in theme position
other than subject is deliberately made to
raise significance.
Adverbial theme: Yesterday, she went
for a talk.
Exclamative theme: How wonderful his
writing is!
Interrogative theme: Are you going to
the cinema?/ What/ Would you like...
Imperative theme: Wake me up before../
Don't disturb.../ Please stop it.

To remember: placing theme or rheme

in certain positions depends on the
information communicated + the
exchange of information between
theme and rheme is called thematic
progression and it promotes cohesion.

The misuse of Theme-and-

Rheme flow:
Definition: Failing to provide clear
signposts when switching to another
theme, hence the flow is disrupted and it
becomes difficult to understand the text.
There are three common problems
resulting from the misuse of Theme
and Rheme:
1. The problem of the brand new
theme: putting new information in theme
position. Example: The illiteracy rate is
high in rural areas. => the illiteracy rate is
positioned as a theme but it is new
information which is contradictory since
we know that the theme is given
informations and the rheme is the one
who provides new information. (In rural
areas,.....)
2. The problem of double rheme: a
sentence containing two rhemes with one
of the rhemes never mentioned
previously. Example: the educational
reform had a big influence on young
teachers, and the student's families
paid a lot of money for their children.
The rhemes are "had a big influence on
young teachers," "and the student's
families paid a lot of money for their
children." The second rheme has no
previous mention.
3. The problem of the empty rheme:
failing to provide new information in rheme
position. Example: Friendship relationship
is the relation between two friends.

It is possible to find paragraphs with no

theme progression. Example:
Types of Themes:
There are three types of themes:
1. Topical theme: (also known as
experiential theme which represents the
human experience, inner world,
conceptions mostly obtained by people
from the outside world) the theme of a
clause that ends with the first
constituent that is either participants,
circumstances, or processes. ( Topical
is used to describe something that
concerns or relates to events that are
happening at the present time. ).
This type of theme is represented by a
nominal group (e.g. everyone), a
prepositional phrase (e.g. on Saturday
night), or an adverbial group (e.g. merrily).
2. Textual theme: functioning to relate the
meaning of the particular clause to other
parts of the text. It's about creating
cohesion in the discourse. It has a linking
function.
{Usage of conjunctions and discourse
markers}.

3. Interpersonal theme: functioning to

code the speaker's/writer's personal
judgement or meaning.
According to the constituents of a theme,
it can be classified into simple theme,
multiple theme, and Clausal theme:
Simple theme/Multiple theme/Clausal
theme.