COMMON LITERARY

THEMES
Theme is the central idea of a
literary work.
• It answers these questions: “What’s the story about?” or “What’s its
point?”

• Example:
• “A boy and a girl fall in love. The boy is forced to join the army and fights
to survive in a war-torn country as his beloved waits at home. When he
returns from war, the two are united and married.”
• Themes that surface in the example:
The power of true love
Fate, which sometimes tears lovers apart and then joins them together
War
Themes can be messages or
subject matters in a literary piece:
• As subject matter- expressed concretely in a very general way
or as a broad subject, such as courtship, love, death, etc.
• As a message- expressed in a more abstract way as an idea
Subject vs Theme

• The subject is a topic that acts as the foundation for a work of

literature, such as marriage in 19th-century France. 
• A theme is an opinion the author expresses on the subject, for
instance, the author's dissatisfaction with the narrow confines
of French bourgeois marriage during that period.
There can be major and minor
themes in a certain literary work:
• A major theme is an idea that a writer repeats in his work,
making it the most significant idea in a literary work.
• A minor theme, on the other hand, refers to an idea that
appears in a work briefly and that may or may not give way to
another minor theme.
How to identify themes:
• Read and understand the literary piece you are reading or
watching.
• Note the plot of the work.
• Identify the main subjects discussed in the work.
• Who is the protagonist (the main character)?
• Consider and assess the author’s view on the subjects you
have pointed out in the work.
Some related terms:
• Moral-main message or lesson to be learned from reading a
cautionary story; it is always an instruction or warning to the
reader
• Motif-emphasizes the theme and are recurring images, objects
or ideas that highlight the theme
Some common themes:
• Love
• War
• Death
• Individual vs. society
• Survival
• Heroism
• Power and Corruption
• Good vs. Evil
They say that from the bamboo 
We had our first birth. 

Am I of the body, 
Or of the green leaf? 
Do I have to whisper 
My every sin and grief? 

If the wind passes by, 

Must I stoop and try 
To measure fully 
My flexibility? 

I might have been the bamboo, 

Imagine you are playwrights/actors/actresses. Write a
short script showing one of the common themes we
discussed and act it out with your groupmates.
Criteria:
Creativity -40%
Use of Theme -30%
Relevance of skit -30%
Total 100%