Theme
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[[Image:Edgar Allan Poe.jpg|thumb|left|200px| | [[Image:Edgar Allan Poe.jpg|thumb|left|200px| | ||
"'''The death ... of a [[beautiful woman]] is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world'''" is a dictum by Edgar Allen Poe, from his essay "[[The Philosophy of Composition]]". | "'''The death ... of a [[beautiful woman]] is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world'''" is a dictum by Edgar Allen Poe, from his essay "[[The Philosophy of Composition]]". | ||
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Photo: A [[daguerreotype]] of [[Edgar Allan Poe]], author of ''[[Tales of Mystery & Imagination]]'']] | Photo: A [[daguerreotype]] of [[Edgar Allan Poe]], author of ''[[Tales of Mystery & Imagination]]'']] | ||
Revision as of 21:53, 10 February 2014
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A theme is a subject of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic; a recurring idea; a motif. In music it refers to the main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
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Etymology
From Old French tesme (French: thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (tithemi, “I put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do).
By field
In literature
In contemporary literary studies, a theme is the central topic a text treats.
The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or concept that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the theme loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the thesis—the text's or author's implied worldview.
In visual art
Themes and sensibilities
See also