Theme
The Search for Meaning
What is a Theme?
Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or
message about life or human nature that is
communicated by a literary work.
In other words…
Theme is what the story teaches readers.
Themes
A theme is not a word, it is a sentence.
You don’t have to agree with the theme to
identify it.
Examples
Money can’t buy happiness.
Don’t judge people based on the surface.
It is better to die free than live under tyranny.
Identifying Themes
Themes are not explicit (clearly stated).
Themes are implied.
Themes are bigger than the story.
Small Big World of the Theme.
World Applies to the “Real” World.
of the
Story
Themes are about the big picture.
Not “Yellow Starbursts taste bad”
Not “Yudy and Carrie are bad friends.”
Think BIGGER.
Find “Real” World advice.
Small Big World of the Theme.
World Applies to the “Real” World.
of the
Story
Figurative Language
Figuring it Out
Figurative and Literal Language
Literal: words function exactly as defined
The boy’s room was messy.
The left fielder dropped the baseball.
Figurative: You have to figure it out
The boy’s room was a pigsty.
The left fielder has butterfingers.
^These are figures of speech.
Simile
A comparison of two different things
using the word “like” or “as.”
Examples
Telephone wires hung like a musical score
Compares telephone wires to a musical score
Those faces, sour as vinegar;
Compares facial expressions to the taste of vinegar
Warning!
“Like” and “as” don’t always make similes.
A comparison must be made.
Not Simile: I washed the dishes as she dried
them.
Simile: The dishes were as clean as the
inside of a full bottle of soap.
In the first example, no comparison is made.
In the second, the cleanliness of the dishes
is compared to the inside of a soap bottle.
Metaphor
A comparison of two different things
without using the word “like” or “as.”
Examples
Flowers of thought blossom while reading
Compares thinking to blossoming flowers
Drink of sweet courage until drunk of it
Compares courage to a liquid drink
She was my lute, by her I sang
Compares the girl to a lute
Personification
Giving human traits to objects or ideas.
Examples
The stars are hiding now
Gives stars the ability to hide.
Or trees that whisper in some far, small town
Gives trees the ability to whisper.
A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hair
Gives the tree hair and the ability to wear things.
Hyperbole
Exaggerating to express a strong feeling
Examples
I will love you until the end of time.
It is unlikely that the speaker will live that long.
My dad would kill me if he knew about this.
Dad probably wouldn’t actually kill his own child.
My book bag weighs a million pounds.
The bag isn’t even close to a million pounds.
Understatement
Expression with less strength than expected.
The opposite of hyperbole.
Examples
The guillotine will give you a bad hair day.
The results will be much worse than bad hair.
Kidnapping your host is considered rude.
This is a serious crime much worse than rudeness.
Onomatopoeia
A word that makes a sound
Examples
Splat!
Boom!
Bang!
Zoop!
Alliteration
The repeating of the same letter or sound,
especially consonant sounds…including
tongue twisters.
Examples
Ms. Warren was worried when Wendy was waiting.
Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Imagery
Appeals to the five senses using descriptive
adjectives.
Examples
The stench of his sweaty, moldy gym bag filled the
air as he walked in the room.
Symbolism
Symbolism is using one thing (a symbol) to
stand for or represent something else.
Examples
The dove is a symbol of peace.
A red rose, or the color red, stands for love or
romance.
Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.
Idiom
An expression that means something other
than the literal meaning of its individual
words. They are overused expressions.
Examples
It’s raining cats and dogs!
My grandmother is no spring chicken!
She is getting under my skin
Oxymoron
When two words are put together that
contradict each other. “Opposites”
Examples
Jumbo Shrimp
Freezer Burn
Pretty Ugly
Pun
A form of “word play” in which words have a
double meaning.
Examples
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger
and then it hit me.
I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s
impossible to put it down.
Proverb
A figurative saying in which a bit of “wisdom”
is given.
Examples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
The early bird catches the worm