What is the theme of a story examples. What is the theme of the work? Types of themes in literary works

There is an inextricable logical connection.

What is the theme of the work?

If you raise the question of the theme of the work, then intuitively every person understands what it is. He just explains it from his point of view.

The theme of a work is what underlies a particular text. It is with this basis that the most difficulties arise, because it is impossible to define it unambiguously. Some people believe that the theme of the work - what is described there - is the so-called vital material. For example, topic love relationship, war or death.

The topic can also be called problems of human nature. That is, the problem of personality formation, moral principles or the conflict of good and bad actions.

Another topic could be verbal basis. Of course, it’s rare to come across works about words, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. There are texts in which the play on words goes to foreground. Suffice it to recall the work of V. Khlebnikov “Perverten”. His verse has one peculiarity - the words in a line are read the same in both directions. But if you ask the reader what the verse was actually about, he is unlikely to answer anything intelligible. Since the main highlight of this work is the lines that can be read both from left to right and from right to left.

The theme of the work is a multifaceted component, and scientists put forward one or another hypothesis regarding it. If we talk about something universal, then the topic literary work- this is the “foundation” of the text. That is, as Boris Tomashevsky once said: “The theme is a generalization of the main, significant elements.”

If the text has a theme, then there must be an idea. An idea is a writer’s plan who pursues a specific goal, that is, what the writer wants to present to the reader.

Figuratively speaking, the theme of the work is what made the creator create the work. So to speak, the technical component. In turn, the idea is the “soul” of the work; it answers the question of why this or that creation was created.

When the author is completely immersed in the topic of his text, truly feels it and is imbued with the problems of the characters, then an idea is born - spiritual content, without which the page of the book is just a set of dashes and circles.

Learning to find

For example, we can cite a little story and try to find its main theme and idea:

• The autumn downpour did not bode well, especially late at night. All the residents of the small town knew about this, so the lights in the houses had long gone out. In all but one. It was old mansion on a hill outside the city, which was used as Orphanage. During this terrible downpour, the teacher found a baby on the threshold of the building, so there was a terrible turmoil in the house: feeding, bathing, changing clothes and, of course, telling a fairy tale - after all, this is the main tradition of the old orphanage. And if any of the residents of the city knew how grateful the child would be who was found on the doorstep, they would have responded to the soft knock on the door that sounded in every house on that terrible rainy evening.

In this small passage, two themes can be distinguished: abandoned children and an orphanage. Essentially, these are the basic facts that forced the author to create the text. Then you can see that introductory elements appear: a foundling, tradition and a terrible thunderstorm, which forced all the city residents to lock themselves in their houses and turn out the lights. Why does the author talk about them specifically? These introductory descriptions will be the main idea of ​​the passage. They can be summarized by saying that the author is talking about the problem of mercy or selflessness. In one word, he tries to convey to every reader that, regardless of weather conditions, you need to remain human.

How is a theme different from an idea?

The theme has two differences. Firstly, it determines the meaning (main content) of the text. Secondly, the theme can be revealed both in large works and in small short stories. The idea, in turn, shows the main goal and task of the writer. If you look at the presented passage, you can say that the idea is the main message from the author to the reader.

Determining the theme of a work is not always easy, but such a skill will be useful not only in literature lessons, but also in Everyday life. It is with its help that you can learn to understand people and enjoy pleasant communication.

Subject(gr. thema literally means something underlying) - this is an object of knowledge. Subjects- these are those phenomena of life that are reflected in the work.

In ancient times, it was believed that the integrity of a literary work was determined by the unity of the main character. But Aristotle also drew attention to the fallacy of such a view, pointing out that the stories about Hercules remain different stories, although dedicated to one person, and the Iliad, which tells about many heroes, does not cease to be an integral work.

What gives a work its holistic character is not the hero, but the unity of the problem posed in it, the unity of the idea being revealed.

The subject of depiction in works of literature can be a variety of phenomena of human life, natural life, flora and fauna, as well as material culture (buildings, furnishings, views of cities, etc.).

But the main subject of knowledge in fiction is the characteristic features of human life. These are the social characters of people both in their external manifestations, relationships, activities, and in their internal, mental life.

Yesin: Subject -"an object artistic reflection, those life characters and situations that seem to move from reality into piece of art and form the objective side of its content.”

Tomashevsky:“Unity of meanings of individual elements of a work. It brings together the components of an artistic design.”

The plot may be the same, but the theme is different. In popular literature, the plot weighs heavily on the theme. Life very often becomes the object of depiction.

The topic is often determined by the author’s literary preferences and his belonging to a certain group.

The concept of internal theme is themes that are cross-cutting for the writer; this is the thematic unity that unites all his works.

The theme is the organizing beginning of the work.

Problem - this highlighting of some aspect, the emphasis on it, which is resolved as the work unfolds, is the writer’s ideological understanding of the social characters that he depicted in the work. The writer highlights and enhances those properties, aspects, relationships of the characters depicted that he considers the most significant.

The problem is still to a greater extent than the subject depends on the worldview of the author. Therefore life is the same social environment can be understood differently by writers who have different ideological worldviews.

Moliere in the comedy “Tartuffe,” having portrayed the main character as a scoundrel and a hypocrite who deceives straightforward and honest people, depicted all his thoughts and actions as manifestations of this main negative character trait. The name Tartuffe became a common noun for hypocrites.

Idea- this is what the author wants to say, why this work was written.

It is thanks to the expression of ideas in images that literary works have such a strong effect on the thoughts, feelings, will of readers and listeners, on their entire inner world.

The attitude to life expressed in a work, or its ideological and emotional assessment, always depends on the writer’s understanding of the characters he portrays and follows from his worldview.

The idea of ​​a literary work is the unity of all aspects of its content; This is a figurative, emotional, generalizing thought of the writer.

The reader is usually sinceregives in to the illusion that everything depicted in the productionknowledge is life itself; he is addicted to actionthe fate of the heroes, experiences their joys, sympathizes with themsuffering or internally condemns it. Whereinthe reader often does not immediately realize what essentialfeatures are embodied in the heroes and in the entire course of the artof the events being described and what significance the details havetheir actions and experiences.

But these detailsare created by the writer in order to, through them, elevate the characters of some heroes in the minds of the reader and reduce the characters of others.

Just by re-reading the works andby thinking about them, the reader can come to the realizationwhat general properties lives are embodied in those orother heroes and how they are comprehended and evaluated by the writertel. Literary criticism often helps him in this.

Any analysis of a literary work begins with identifying its theme and idea. There is a close semantic and logical connection between them, thanks to which the literary text is perceived as an integral unity of form and content. Correct understanding of the meaning literary terms theme and idea allows us to establish how accurately the author was able to realize his creative idea and whether his book is worth the reader's attention.

The theme of a literary work is semantic definition its content, reflecting the author’s vision of the depicted phenomenon, event, character or other artistic reality.

An idea is a writer’s plan, pursuing a specific goal in creating artistic images, using the principles of plot construction and achieving the compositional integrity of a literary text.

What is the difference between a theme and an idea?

Figuratively speaking, a theme can be considered any reason that prompted the writer to take up the pen and transfer it to Blank sheet paper reflected in artistic images perception of the surrounding reality. You can write about anything; another question: for what purpose, what task should I set myself?

The goal and task determine the idea, the disclosure of which constitutes the essence of an aesthetically valuable and socially significant literary work.

Among the diversity literary themes there are several main directions that serve as reference points for flight creative imagination writer. These are historical, social, adventure, detective, psychological, moral and ethical, lyrical, philosophical topics. The list goes on. It will include both original author's notes and literary diaries, and stylistically refined extracts from archival documents.

The theme, felt by the writer, acquires spiritual content, an idea, without which the book page will remain just a coherent text. The idea can be reflected in historical analysis problems important to society, in depicting complex psychological moments, on which it depends human destiny, or simply in creating a lyrical sketch that awakens a sense of beauty in the reader.

The idea is the deep content of the work. Theme is a motive that allows you to realize a creative idea within a specific, precisely defined context.

The difference between a topic and an idea

The theme determines the actual and semantic content of the work.

The idea reflects the tasks and goals of the writer, which he strives to achieve while working on a literary text.

The theme has formative functions: it can be revealed in small literary genres or be developed into a major epic work.

The idea is the main content core literary text. It corresponds to the conceptual level of organization of the work as an aesthetically significant whole.

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Subject

Subject

(Greek theme - what is supposed to be), in literary criticism - the content of a work in its most general view or the content of any fragment of the work. In the literature of antiquity, the Middle Ages, Renaissance And classicism the topic of the essay was strictly related to his genre. Thus, the exploits of kings and generals were narrated in epic poems; their deeds were praised in solemn odah; the conflict between man and fate or the struggle between duty and passion was depicted in tragedies, and human vices were exposed in comedies. In the era romanticism the clear correlation between genre and theme was destroyed; it was preserved only in some genres. For example, idyll- a short poem about simple joys rural life, A elegy – lyric poem sad content about lost youth and disappointed hopes. Various literary trends and currents (see Literary direction and current) have preference different topics. In classicism these are heroic themes, themes of service to the state, in romanticism - love theme, themes of loneliness, death, etc., in symbolism– religious and mystical themes.

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .

SUBJECT- the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotional-intellectual core that the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called. content. Topic in in a broad sense words is that holistic image of the world that determines the artist’s poetic worldview. Under the sign of this image, the artist combines the most diverse phenomena of reality. Thanks to this image, the synthetic activity of the artist is possible, which distinguishes him from the non-artist.

Every artist has his own theme, his own image of the world.

But depending on the material through which this image is refracted, we have one or another reflection of it, i.e. one or another idea (specific topic), which determines exactly this work, where only one of the faces of the single image guiding the artist’s entire work is revealed. If, from this point of view, we approach, approximately, Lermontov, whose main theme is the Demon, then we can outline a number of particular themes that determined one or another plot of his individual works. The theme of a demon seeking salvation through love defines the plot of “The Demon”; theme of a demon stooping to human image, - the plot of “A Hero of Our Time,” etc. The concept of the theme will become even more prominent if we compare it with musical concept leit-motif, with what is usually called, when applied to a literary work, the “red thread”. Because the famous topic, the main idea, influences the significance of a particular moment and individual moments are perceived against the background of the thematic whole, one can, of course, talk about a “red thread” running through the entire work. But at the same time, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the concept of “leit motif” or “red thread”. While the leit-motif, the guiding motive, runs through the entire work, then in the form of repetitions (repetition of the same sounds, thoughts, repetition of positions characters, repetition of descriptions in general or in particular, etc.), then in the form of different variations - if the leit-motif and the “red thread” clearly breaks through here and there, connecting individual parts - the theme itself remains outwardly unidentified, forming a mental center around which everything is located, but which is not fixed in any single phrase. For this reason, it seems completely wrong to define the topic famous work only by this or that technique and a recurring moment, for the theme runs through every moment, it is everywhere and nowhere, as someone noted when applied to music, which can be extended to literature. A theme can only repeat itself, and its development lies in these repetitions. Proof of the validity of this thought is both the work of great writers in general (Lermontov’s theme is the demon, Tyutchev’s theme is the struggle between the day and night principles, etc.), and their individual works.

J. Zundelovich.

Subject. This is sometimes the name given to the derived verb stem of the common Indo-European language. on O, alternating with e, Wed Greek φέρομεν “we carry” (μεν - the end of the 1st l. plural), φέρετε “you carry” (τε - the end of the 2nd l. plural); most vowel sounds O, e at the end of T. called. thematic vowels, and the conjugation of verbs from T. to oh - thematic conjugation(cm.).

N.D. Literary encyclopedia: Dictionary literary terms: In 2 volumes / Edited by N. Brodsky, A. Lavretsky, E. Lunin, V. Lvov-Rogachevsky, M. Rozanov, V. Cheshikhin-Vetrinsky. - M.; L.: Publishing house L. D. Frenkel, 1925

See what “theme” is in other dictionaries:

subject- y, w. theme, German Thema gr. theme installed; position. 1. The range of life phenomena, events that make up the content of a work of literature, painting, etc. or that underlie scientific research, report, etc. BAS 1. Here’s a topic for you... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Subject- THEME is the main idea, the main sound of the work. Representing that indecomposable emotionally intellectual core, which the poet seems to be trying to decompose with each of his works, the concept of theme is by no means covered by the so-called... ... Dictionary of literary terms

- (lat. theme). 1) content. 2) the main idea essays. 3) in music: the main motive that must be developed by the composer. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. TOPIC [gr. theme] linguistic with current... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

TOPIC, themes, women. (Greek theme). 1. The subject of some kind of reasoning or presentation. Essay on the topic of Napoleonic wars. Choose collective farm life as the theme of the story. “Let me tell you a small incident on this topic.” Leskov. ||… … Dictionary Ushakova

Cm … Synonym dictionary

- “THEME”, USSR, Mosfilm, 1979, color, 99 min. Psychological drama. The “theme” stated in the previous film by director Gleb Panfilov “I Ask for the Word” found a direct continuation in this film. Panfilov undergoes in-depth research... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

TOPIC (in philosophy and history of science) a term introduced by J. Holton as key concept thematic analysis. The term “theme” is used by Holton in three different aspects: thematic concepts, hypotheses and methodologies. Holton doesn't... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Subject- [from the Greek thema, literally what is put (as the basis)], 1) the subject of description, research, conversation, etc. 2) In art (literature, theater, cinema, painting) the object of artistic depiction, the range of life phenomena captured in ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Proposal, subject of discussion, development task; Main thought. Wed. “We won’t talk about this topic, we’re talking about the mother.” And in general, let’s drop all topics for now. Au revoir. A. A. Sokolov. Secret. 20. Wed. He... private letters...... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

TOPIC, s, women. 1. Subject, main content of reasoning, presentation, creativity. Move to another topic. T. story. 2. Main motive piece of music. T. with variations. | adj. thematic, aya, oe (to 1 meaning). The thematic line of the novel... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Female, Greek a proposal, position, task that is being discussed or explained. | Melody, tune, musical. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

• Topic 1. Part 1. Food, products, in a restaurant (DVD), Bystrova Marina. Topic 1. Part 1. Top up quickly lexicon! DVD cards + usage examples + voice-over (Russian-English). Food, groceries, in a restaurant. Learn Russian words in a quick way! DVD...