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The theme of a novel is the main point of the story and what it’s really about. As a writer, it’s important to identify the theme of your story before you write it.
Themes are not unique to each novel because a theme addresses a common feeling or experience your readers can relate to. If you’re aware of what the common themes are, you’ll have a good idea of what your readers are expecting from your novel.
In this article, we’ll explain what a theme is, and we’ll explore common themes in literature.
What Is the Theme of a Story?
The theme of a story is the underlying message or central idea the writer is trying to show through the actions of the main characters. A theme is usually something the reader can relate to, such as love, death, and power.
Your story can have more than one theme, as it might have core themes and minor themes that become more apparent later in the story. A romance novel can have the central theme of love, but the protagonist might have to overcome some self-esteem issues, which present the theme of identity.
Themes are great for adding conflict to your story because each theme presents different issues you could use to develop your characters. For example, a novel with the theme of survival will show the main character facing tough decisions about their own will to survive, potentially at the detriment of someone else they care about.
Sometimes a secondary character will represent the theme in the way they are characterized and the actions they take. Their role is to challenge the protagonist to learn what the story is trying to say about the theme. For example, in a novel about the fear of failure, the antagonist might be a rival in a competition who challenges the protagonist to overcome their fear so they can succeed against them.
It’s important to remember that a theme is not the same as a story’s moral message. A moral is a specific lesson you can teach your readers, whereas a story’s theme is an idea or concept your readers interpret in a way that relates to them.
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Common Themes in Literature
Common literary themes are concepts and central ideas that are relatable to most readers. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use a common theme if you want your novel to appeal to a wide range of readers.
Here’s our list of common themes in literature:
Love: the theme of love appears in novels within many genres, as it can discuss the love of people, pets, objects, and life. Love is a complex concept, so there are still unique takes on this theme being published every day.
Death/Grief: the theme of death can focus on the concept of mortality or how death affects people and how everyone processes grief in their own way.
Power: there are many books in the speculative fiction genres that focus on the theme of power. For example, a fantasy story could center on a ruling family and their internal problems and external pressures, which makes it difficult for them to stay in power.
Faith: the common theme of faith appears in stories where the events test a character’s resolve or beliefs. The character could be religious or the story could be about a character’s faith in their own ability to succeed.
Beauty: the theme of beauty is good for highlighting places where beauty is mostly overlooked by society, such as inner beauty or hard work that goes unnoticed. Some novels also use the theme of beauty to show how much we take beauty for granted.
Survival: we can see the theme of survival in many genres, such as horror, thriller, and dystopian, where the book is about characters who have to survive life-threatening situations.
Identity: there are so many novels that focus on the common theme of identity because it’s something that matters to a lot of readers. Everyone wants to know who they are and where they fit in the world.
Family: the theme of family is popular because families are ripe with opportunities for conflict. The theme of family affects everyone, whether they have one or not, so it’s a relatable theme to use in your story.
Universal Themes in Literature
Universal themes are simply concepts and ideas that almost all cultures and countries can understand and interpret. Therefore, a universal theme is great for books that are published in several languages.
If you want to write a story you can export to readers all over the world, aim to use a universal theme. The common themes mentioned previously are all universal literary themes, but there are several more you could choose for your story.
Here are some more universal literary themes:
Human nature
Free will
Self-awareness
Coming of age
Hope
Jealousy
Justice
Fear
Freedom
Friendship
Bravery
Happiness
Passion
Kindness
Trust
War
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Full List of Themes in Literature
Not all themes are universal or common, but that shouldn’t put you off from using them. If you believe there is something to be said about a particular theme, your book could be the one to say it.
Your book could become popular if the theme of your book addresses a current issue. For example, a theme of art is not as common as love, but in a time when AI developments are making people talk about how AI affects art, it’s a theme people will probably appreciate.
Here’s a full list of themes you can use in your writing:
Abuse of power
Adultery
Adversity
Aging
Alienation
Ambitions
American dream
Arrogance
Art
Autonomy
Beauty
Beliefs
Betrayal
Bravery
Capitalism
Celebration
Chance
Change versus tradition
Chaos and order
Character
Childhood
Circle of life
Class
Climate change
Colonialism
Coming of age
Common sense
Communication
Companionship
Conservation
Conspiracy
Convention and rebellion
Corruption
Courage
Creation
Crime
Darkness and light
Death
Dedication
Democracy
Depression
Desire
Despair
Destiny
Disappointment
Disillusionment
Displacement
Dreams
Economics
Education
Empowerment
Everlasting love
Failure
Faith
Fame
Family
Fate
Fear
Feminism
Forbidden love
Forgiveness
Free will
Freedom
Friendship
Fulfillment
Future
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights
Gender
God
Good vs evil
Government
Gratitude
Greed
Growing up
Guilt
Happiness
Hard work
Hate
Health
Heartbreak
Hero
Heroism
History
Honesty
Honor
Hope
Humankind
Human nature
Humility
Humor
Hypocrisy
Identity
Ideology
Imagination
Immortality
Imperialism
Impossibility
Individuality
Inequality
Injustice
Innocence
Inspiration
Isolation
Jealousy
Joy
Justice
Kindness
Knowledge
Law
Legacy
Life
Loneliness
Loss
Love
Loyalty
Madness
Manipulation
Materialism
Maturity
Medicine
Memories
Mercy
Money
Morality
Motherhood
Music
Nationalism
Nature
Necessity
Neglect
New year
Normality
Not giving up
Oneness
Opportunity
Oppression
Optimism
Overcoming
Passion
Peace
Peer pressure
Perfection
Perseverance
Personal development
Politics
Poverty
Power
Prayer
Prejudice
Pride
Progress
Propaganda
Purpose
Race
Realism
Reality
Rebellion
Rebirth
Redemption
Regret
Relationship
Religion
Repression
Resistance
Revenge
Revolution
Sacrifice
Sadness
Satire
Science
Self-awareness
Self-discipline
Self-reliance
Self-preservation
Simplicity
Sin
Society
Solitude
Stoicism
Subjectivity
Suffering
Suicide
Surveillance
Survival
Sympathy
Technology
Temptation
Time
Tolerance
Totalitarianism
Tragedy
Travel
Trust
Truth
Unconditional love
Universe
Unrequited love
Unselfishness
Value
Vanity
Vices
Violence
Virtue
War
Waste
Wealth
Willpower
Winning and losing
Wisdom
Work
Working class struggles
Xenophobia
Youth
Theme Examples in Popular Novels
If you’ve decided on a literary theme but you’re not sure how to present it in your novel, it’s a good idea to check out how other writers have incorporated it into their novels. We’ve found some examples of themes within popular novels that could help you get started.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is famous for the theme of the American dream, but it also includes themes of gender, race, social class, and identity. We experience the themes of the novel through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway, who gradually loses his optimism for the American dream as the narrative progresses.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
It’s well known that Shakespeare was a connoisseur of the theme of tragedy in his plays, and Romeo and Juliet certainly features tragedy. However, forbidden love and family are the main themes.
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Charlotte’s Web is a classic children’s book that features the themes of death and mortality. From the beginning of the book, the main characters have to come to terms with their own mortality. Charlotte, the spider, does what she can to prevent the slaughter of Wilbur, the pig.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, focuses on themes of totalitarianism, repression, censorship, and surveillance. The novel is famous for introducing the concept of Big Brother, which has become synonymous with the themes of surveillance and abuse of power.
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
The fantasy novel, A Game of Thrones, is popular for its complex storylines that present themes of family, power, love, and death. The novel has multiple points of view, which give an insight into how each main character experiences the multiple themes of the story.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games is a popular teen novel that focuses on themes of poverty, rebellion, survival, friendship, power, and social class. The novel highlights the horrifying consequences of rebellion, as the teenage competitors have to survive the Hunger Games pageant.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Wolf Hall features themes of power, family, faith, and a sense of duty. It’s a historical novel about the life of Oliver Cromwell and how he became the most powerful minister in King Henry VIII’s council.
As you can see, the literary theme of a novel is one of the most important parts, as it gives the reader an instant understanding of what the story is about. Your readers will connect with your novel if you have a theme that is relatable to them.
Some themes are more popular than others, but some gain popularity based on events that are happening in the world. It’s important to consider how relevant your literary theme is to your readers at the time you intend to publish your book.
We hope this list of common themes in literature will help you with your novel writing.
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