What Is Theme in Literature?
3 min read
Theme is the underlying message, lesson, or big idea that a story conveys about life or human nature. It is not what happens in the story, it is what the story means.
For example, a story about a girl who keeps practicing piano after failing a recital is not really "about" piano. Its theme might be: perseverance leads to growth.
Theme vs topic vs main idea
These three are often confused:
- Topic: a single word or phrase, "friendship," "courage," "honesty"
- Theme: a complete statement about the topic, "True friendship means standing by someone even when it is difficult."
- Main idea: the central point of a nonfiction passage. Theme is its fiction counterpart.
A topic is just the subject. A theme is what the author is saying about that subject.
Common themes in children's literature
- Be yourself, pretending to be someone else leads to unhappiness
- Hard work pays off, effort and persistence lead to success
- Kindness matters, treating others well makes the world better
- Everyone belongs, differences should be celebrated, not feared
- Courage is not the absence of fear, it is acting despite fear
- People can change, growth is always possible
How to find the theme
Theme is rarely stated directly. Readers must infer it by looking at:
- What the main character learns: How do they change from beginning to end?
- The consequences of choices: What happens when characters act a certain way?
- Repeated ideas: What concepts keep coming up throughout the story?
- The resolution: How do things turn out, and what does that suggest about life?
A helpful formula for kids
Topic + what the story says about it = Theme
- Topic: honesty
- What the story shows: a character who lies gets caught and loses trust; a character who tells the truth is respected
- Theme: honesty builds trust, even when the truth is hard
Common mistakes
- Stating the topic instead of the theme: "The theme is friendship" (too vague, what about friendship?)
- Summarizing the plot: "The theme is that the boy saved the dog" (that is what happened, not the message)
- Being too specific: "The theme is that kids should practice piano" (themes are universal, not tied to one story's details)
A good theme statement applies beyond the story itself, it is a truth about life in general.
Related concepts
- What Is Main Idea?: the nonfiction counterpart to theme
- What Is Point of View in Literature?: perspective shapes how theme is revealed
- What Is Tone vs Mood?: emotional qualities that support the theme
- What Is an Inference in Reading?: the skill used to identify theme