A theme is the main idea, message, or subject that appears again and again in a piece of writing, art, music, or conversation. It’s what the work is really about beneath the surface details.
From Latin *thema* 'subject, proposition', from Greek *thema* 'a proposition, something set forth', from *tithenai* 'to place, to set'. A theme is something 'set out' for attention.
The theme of a story isn’t just a topic like 'love'—it’s what the story is saying about that topic. If the plot is what happens, the theme is the meaning pattern woven underneath.
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