Theme is a way of making a series of circumstances (plot) which are personal to the protagonist universally relatable to a wide audience. In other words, one doesn’t have to live in a cupboard and be descended from wizards to relate to Harry Potter’s struggle to believe that love conquers all.
In this article I will explain what a theme is and why it’s an essential aspect to any story. And then I’ll give you a secret weapon that will help you to dramatize your theme in a way that will make your story come alive in surprising ways.
What is Theme?
Every story is about something. Story is not just a series of random events leading to some vague conclusion. Theme provides context for those events. The theme introduces a dramatic question that gets resolved by the end of the story. The plot is simply the vehicle that allows the reader to track those events.
Theme is essentially an argument that is played out through drama (for example: What does it mean to be free? What is success?) The characters in the story are functions of the thesis (or dramatic question) that leads to a deeper understanding of the argument being explored.
Theme Explores a Primal Desire
The point of a theme is to make the personal universal, and what makes a theme universally relatable is that it explores a primal human desire, such as:
Belonging
Connection
Meaning
Hope
Success
Survival
Purpose
Validation
To Be Seen
Shakespeare’s plays often begin with the chorus telling us what we are about to see. They don’t tell us the whole plot, but rather they provide context for the events that are about to follow. In other words, the play’s prologue provides us with a lens through which we are led to contextualize the events that follow.
The Difference between Plot and Theme
Theme contains the central idea the author is exploring. This is not the same thing as plot. Plot is what happens, while the theme conveys the underlying meaning behind what happens. Plot is the vehicle that carries the theme. In a satisfying story the theme is in service to the plot, and not the other way around.
The theme is not directly stated but rather revealed through the story’s characters, plot, setting, and the protagonist’s central dilemma. While a story tends to focus on one theme, there can be multiple issues or ideas that are communicated through subplots or relationships between different characters. Secondary characters can often be used to emphasize themes by showing the alternative options or challenging the protagonist’s beliefs.
The theme is what emphasizes the central dilemma in the story. Through the protagonist’s actions, the audience or reader can piece together the message that is being conveyed.
It also brings a cohesiveness to the events of the story as there is an underlying purpose tying everything together.
Theme typically addresses a common human experience, whether about life, society, or the world itself. This is what makes the story so special. Themes do not exist in other types of literature like business texts or historical documents. It is unique to story.
Theme Conveys Meaning
It is human nature to filter our experiences through the perceptions we hold about the world. The goal of any well told story is for it to build in meaning as it progresses. Whether conscious of it or not, readers crave meaning. It’s not merely plot that matters, but the meaning we make out of these events. Theme is not objective, but rather, the author’s point of view on the idea they are exploring. Upon reading a story, it is unlikely that any two readers will share an identical experience or agree entirely on the meaning of a story, and yet, there is still a universal quality to a well told story where all readers or audiences will share a fundamentally shared experience.
Love is not a Theme
If the theme is the engine driving a story, then love is the fuel. Without love, there is no context for what the story is about. The desire for love is often what ignites the theme. But love is far too big and far too general to be a theme. On some level, every story is about love, or the search for love. Theme explores how this leads to a new relationship to self-love for the protagonist. For example, if the main character is seeking success through the validation of others, they may discover by the end of the story that true success can only come from being true to oneself – thus self-love is achieved. Love is the thing that every human being is seeking, whether it be romantic, familial, or love of self – it is the thing that makes the world go round.
Issue Versus Theme
Issues are not the same as themes. For example, a story may explore an issue such as homelessness, or the economy, or gender roles, but these are different than themes. If a story is exploring the issue of homelessness for example, it could be seen through multiple thematic lenses, such as identity (The Glass Castle) or a search for meaning (The Fisher King.) The difference is that the theme allows the author to explore a particular issue, while making it universally relatable.
Theme Examples:
Here are three examples of themes in classic literature.
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Theme: Holding onto Innocence
This is a sort of coming of age novel about Holden Caulfield who is trying to hold onto his true self in a world where he sees everything and everyone as a phony. He has a deep desire to protect innocence, not just in himself, but in the world around him. He feels deeply protective of his younger sister, Phoebe, but by the end of the story, he watches her ride the carousel with the realization that growing up is an inevitable part of life, and he comes to accept that he cannot rescue anyone from what he perceives to be the cynicism of adulthood.
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Theme: Redemption
The protagonist, Raskolnikov, believes that he is above moral law, thus he murders in cold blood a pawnbroker to prove it to himself. It is a story of existential dread as he wrestles with his conscience, wondering if he can be redeemed after committing a mortal sin. Eventually he confesses his crime, thus dramatizing the primal desire for redemption, and the cost one is willing to pay for it.
- The Odyssey by Homer
Theme: Purpose
When Odysseus journeys home from the Trojan War, he encounters obstacles that test his strength and endurance, thus forcing him to explore his deep reserves of wisdom and cunning, while staying single-minded in his purpose. In spite of his many struggles and temptations, his desire to return home to Ithaca and reclaim his throne is what makes him an heroic example of staying true to one’s purpose.
YOUR SECRET WEAPON: How to Dramatize the Theme of your Story
The first thing to remember when writing your story is that it’s not your job to “figure it out.”
It is normal as writers for us to want to figure out the plot. But this approach is the very thing that keeps getting writers stuck, because you begin to get attached to your idea of the story rather than the truth of the story.
Theme is dramatized through a dilemma:
Examples:
Theme Dilemma
Freedom When I escape then I’ll be free
Faith Show me, and then I will believe
Intimacy Will you still love me if I show you who I am?
By holding your idea of the story loosely, you are able to remain connected to the deeper meaning.
Exercise #1
As your protagonist, in a word or a phrase, fill in the blanks.
I want ___.
I need ___.
Notice that what your protagonist wants is always outside of themselves.
And notice that what they need is always within.
Notice also, that what your protagonist wants is shared by every character in your story. This is where you might vehemently disagree with me. “No Alan, in fact they want exactly the opposite things.” But consider this. They actually do want the same thing, but they might be going about it in diametrically opposite ways. In other words, it is this uniformity of desire that creates the drama in your story, thus leading you to your theme.
For example, in the film, It’s a Wonderful Life, everyone in the story is trying to have a wonderful life but they all go about it in different ways. The dramatic question (theme) is “What does it mean to have a wonderful life?” And by the end of the story, the protagonist has a new relationship to this question.
Exercise # 2
Notice the dilemma that is besetting your protagonist in the story. (Take another look at the want and the need and you will likely notice their dilemma.) Remember, a dilemma contains a powerful desire and a false belief.
For example, in It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey believes he will have a wonderful life when he leaves Bedford Falls. By the end of the story he reframes his relationship to this desire by recognizing that is life is wonderful right here in the town he grew up in.
Clarifying the theme is like staring into the sun. If you look at it head on, you will become blind to it, unable to see what’s truly there. Forcing or intellectualizing the theme will only get you stuck. Remember, human beings are not logical creatures, they are emotional creatures. If you try to force your characters to behave logically, you will kill the aliveness of your story. Think of drama as characters behaving uncharacteristically. In spite of George Bailey’s profound desire to leave Bedford Falls, he stays to honor his father. Through exploring your story, you may find a quiet yearning and belief that is weaving its way throughout.
It is through the journey of exploring your theme, that you will create a story that may deliver profound insights about yourself and the world around you.
Join us on the journey with one of our workshops – The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, Story Day
Rising Action | Definitions, Examples & Your Secret Weapon