How to find Theme

Identifying the theme of a literary work

An issue is a key or fundamental concept in a piece of writing that can be formulated directly or implicitly. Every novel, story, poem and other piece of writing has at least one theme that pervades it. An author can give insights into mankind or a world view through a topic. Don't mistake the theme of a work for its theme:

It is a theme that serves as the basis for a literary work, such as marriages in France in the nineteenth cenury. One theme is an expression of the author's view on the theme, such as the author's discontent with the tight limits of civil wedlock in France at the time. Literary works can have large and small themes:

One of the main themes is an ideal that a novelist reiterates in his work, which makes it the most important ideal in a work of literature. On the other side, a subsidiary subject relates to an ideas which briefly emerges in a work and which may or may not give way to another subsidiary subject.

You must have studied a work before attempting to find its theme, and you should at least be able to grasp the basic principles of its storyline, characterization, and other poetic features. Think about the most important topics of the work for some while. Next, you should consider how the writer thinks about these issues.

This view points out the topics of the work. Please pay attention to the representation of the work: Please take a moment to record the most important aspects of literature: action, characterisation, attitude, sound, linguistic styles, etc. Please indicate the object of the work: Who' s the hero ( the leading figure )? What is the relationship of this personality to others?

Judge the author's point of view: Ultimately, define the author's perspective on the character and the decisions they make. How could the author's attitudes be towards resolving the major dispute? That is the theme of the issue. Hints can be found in the languages used, in quotations from protagonists or in the definitive solution of disputes.

Please be aware that none of these items (action, theme, nature, or perspective) is a theme in itself. However, identification is an important first stage in the identification of the most important issues of a work.