Thematic Elements
In modern literature studies, themes are central themes, central subject, or story element in a story. The themes of most modern literary works are, on one level, stories about human beings. But on another level these themes are theories about what human beings experience and think. Most themes are descriptive rather than prescient. A theme is usually described as a thought-provoking idea that underlies various elements of the story.
Themes can also be divided into two broad categories: the thematic idea of a story and the thematic statement of the story. In the former, the themes of a literary work are ideas that pervade the plot of the story, including the characters, plot, actions, dialogue, setting, and other literary devices. The themes in this type of work are usually descriptive and do not suggest any connection between the plot and any central theme. These themes may take on significance from time to time but they do not form a main or identifying part of the entire work.
In the latter type of theme, which is more central to the overall theme of the literary work, the themes refer to a specific character, situation, idea, quality, or result of the plot. The thematic element of the story is important to the reader because it gives meaning to the story by suggesting what the characters do, why they do it, and how. The themes in this kind of literary work are usually significant in their implication to the main characters, plot, and themes. It is the thematic idea that makes the readers understand what is happening in the story.
In order to understand themes better, it is useful to take note of the basic definition of a theme. A theme is a central idea or central point of discussion in literature. The theme definition will include all the specifics necessary for describing the plot of the story and its various themes. In addition to the central topic itself, all the other details and themes must be described according to the theme definition.
Although the meaning of themes can vary from author to author, common themes that most authors consider to be important are action, adventure, comedy, romance, tragedy, and other subjective elements. To give some examples, the novel The Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter can be considered to have a theme of adventure. The adventure in the novel centers on the adventures of three rabbit travelers who are forced to travel across time and space. The theme of Peter Rabbit, on the other hand, is the adventure of getting into the mind of a rabbit. However, while these themes are important to a reader’s comprehension of the story, it is not necessary that they actually convey meanings to readers.
Morale is another important concept of themes that may be communicated with a poem or story. Morale, in literary terms, is the overall feeling or tone of the piece. Most importantly, however, the morale conveyed by themes is dependent on how strongly a writer conveys it. For example, if an author creates a serious piece of literature such as The DaVinci Code, the tone and message conveyed by the themes will be different than the one conveyed by a work that has a light, happy feel to it.