What is theme, and why does nobody agree? Part 2
In my last post on this topic (reblogged above), I talked about how there’s a lot of disagreement over the definition of theme, and I showed that people define theme in three different ways:
Theme refers solely to the story’s subject
Theme refers solely to the story’s message
Theme refers to both the subject and the message.
But which of these definitions is the “right” one, and how should we as writers think about theme?
First things first, I’m going to set aside Definition 1 (where theme refers just to the subject), since it’s hard to find many people who define theme in that way alone.
That narrows us down the two remaining options, which I’m going to break into two contexts:
The definition you use in school.
The definition you use outside of school.
While combing the internet, I found that Definition 2 (where theme refers just to the message) is what’s generally taught in academic settings. And truthfully, it makes a lot of sense that teachers would prefer this definition.
Why? Because if a teacher is asking you to write a paper about the theme of a book, they’re probably going to want to hear you write about the message, rather than the subject. A message is more specific, and it forces you to create a more nuanced, arguable interpretation. That makes for a more analytical and argumentative literature paper.
For example, if you wrote a paper about the subject of “love” in Romeo and Juliet, you’re not really arguing anything; you’re just stating what the story is clearly about. But if you wrote an essay on a message like “overzealous love can lead to violence,” all of a sudden you’re taking an interpretive stance, and you need to provide textual evidence to support your claim.
That’s why I think this definition is so prominent in schools and colleges. It forces you into quality analysis, which leads to more tangible discussion and argumentation.
The only problem? When you leave the classroom, people don’t limit theme to just the “message.” In fact, most examples you find online (though not all) are just “subjects.”
Definition 3, then, is the grand compromise. It states that both subjects and messages are themes; they’re just different types of themes (often called in these contexts the “thematic concept” and “thematic statement,” such as here).
I think this is the approach that most effectively summarizes how people actually talk about theme, but I also think it’s the most helpful approaches for writers.
Writing meaningful stories
Again, the “subject” of your story is what it’s broadly about, while the “message” is what you have to say about that subject. But when you write a story with that mindset, it’s easy to get stuck believing the purpose of your subject is just to deliver a message. Which is a problem.
Because messages may be useful, but they’re also limiting. They’re clean-cut—easy to hold, dissect, and analyze. Maybe even a little boring, pinned like an insect on a spreading board—and a lot of great stories don’t have clear messages.
But subjects? Those are broader, messier, harder to boil down. They’re more alive to me, and they’re closer, I think, to the true nature of stories. Because in the end, stories are irreducible: nobody can effectively compress and share the effect of a story, except by sharing the story itself.
Because a good story is an experience.
And that’s why I opt for this broader definition of theme: because by thinking about theme as having two categories—both the subject and the message—we start to acknowledge the importance of both in our work.
Our stories are, after all, about more than the message. They’re about the experience, the subject—whether it’s forgiveness, war, hope, or something else.
When we forget that the subjects we explore are just as important as the messages we share, we forget the value of the experience we’re creating.
And with stories, the experience is everything.
In the end, it’s hard to definitively say what the “correct” definition of theme is, because it really does depend on your context. But the one thing we can be confident about is that both the subject and the message (or whatever terms you use for those concepts) have important roles to play in your storytelling.
That being said, I’d love to hear from you all. How do you define theme? And how do you like to think about theme as you write your stories?
And if you enjoyed this post, I hope you’ll follow my Tumblr for more posts that explore how to tell stories with meaning and impact.
