Literature's Recurring Ideas -
Topics, Themes and Plots
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Therefore, since literary texts reflect human nature, these topics, themes, and plots concern people in many cultures. Consequently, they recur in the oral stories and written compositions of various societies.
In writing about them, be sure to state what is said about the topic.
- The word "topic" means some aspect of the human condition that the literature examines.
- The word "assertion" includes the topic and also what the writer says about it.
- The word "thesis" lists the different parts of the literary work that lead to the assertion. They contribute to the assertion and thesis.
- The word "essay," not "theme," means the assignment that students write.
- "Theme" as used here is always synonymous with "Topic."
- "Plot" is the overall perspective on the action writers use to develop the topic.
- There are also dramatic situations, nine themes of western civ, and the nine fairy tale plots.
- See an example of literary criticism. Mark Twain's sendup skewers James Fenimore Cooper's The Deerslayer. It is an example of doing it with humor and wit.
It is not analysis to just state the topic. To say that a given text is about "the battle between good and evil" is only the beginning. See the example below. For any topic you choose,
- Express the assertion about it in the introduction.
- Include the thesis to forecast the organization of the ideas.
Topic/Theme |
Assertion |
Thesis |
| One aspect of the human condition that the literature examines |
The topic and also that the writer says
about it |
The different parts in the literary work that lead to the assertion and lay out the organization of the essay |
| The battle between good and evil
|
The film, Star Wars shows that the battle between good and evil goes even beyond outer space.
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A look at the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker shows that while physical battles against an external enemy are horrific, perhaps the internal struggles cost the most.
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For any topic you choose below, pattern an asssertion and thesis for it as in the examples above.
Age
Art
Authority
Beauty
Beginnings
Chaos
Childhood
Coming of age
Condemnation
Conformity
Courage
Courtship
Cultural Identity
Death
Doubt
Dream, The
Duty
Endings
Enlightenment
Experience
Faith
Faithfulness
Feminine, The
Freedom
Friendship
Fulfillment
God/mortal relationship
Good
Hope
Humanity
Husbands and wives
Illusion and its roles
Imagination
Immortality
Individual identity
Individual and society
Initiation
Innocence
Inspiration
|
Justice
Language
Life's value, values, conduct, and meaning
Light
Love
Loyalty
Masculine, The
Men
Muse, The
Nature/civilization relationship
Order
Parents and children
Passion
Past
Peace
Person and others
Present
Pride
Principles guiding public service
Private conduct, its consequences, and society
Quest for fame
Race, ethnicity, and nationality
Reality and unreality
Rebellion
Renewal
Revenge
Salvation
Self, The
Truth, Its nature
Violence
War
Wisdom
Women
Worship
Youth
. . . any of the above and its opposite, its negation, its fulfillment, and/or its denial |
See the groupings at Prof. Janice Patten's San Jose State University site
Plots
Ronald Tobias' 1993 book discusses the 20 Master Plots (And How To Build Them).
Adventure
Ambition
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back
Coming of age
Disaster
Discovery
Escape
Forbidden love
Friendship
Good vs. Evil
Greed/pride
Growth
Journey
Loss/recovery
Love |
Maturation
Overcoming insurmountable obstacles
Pursuit
Quest
Rags-to-riches stories
Rescue
Revenge
Rivalry
Sacrifice
Solving puzzles/riddles
Stranger comes to town
Temptation
Transformation
Triumph over adversity
Underdog
Wretched excess |
Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations
Georges Polti's 1868 book, The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, may list the definitive number of dramatic plots.
Abduction
Adultery
Adultery, Murderous
Ambition
Conflict with a god
Crime pursued by vengeance
Crimes of love
Daring enterprise
Deliverance
Disaster
Dishonor of a loved one, Discovery of the
Enemy loved, an
Enigma
Enmity of kinsmen
Erroneous judgment
Falling prey to cruelty or misfortune
Fatal imprudence
Involuntary crimes of love
Loss of loved one(s)
|
Madness
Mistaken jealousy
Obstacles to love
Obtaining
Pursuit
Recovery of a lost one
Remorse
Revolt
Rivalry of superior and inferior
Rivalty of kinsmen
Sacrifice of all for a passion
Sacrificing loved ones, necessity of
Self-sacrifice for a kindred
Self-sacrifice for an ideal
Slaying of a kinsman unrecognized
Supplication
Vengeance taken on behalf of a person by his or her family
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Nine Themes and Plots
Western Culture's Nine Central Themes
John Carroll's 2001 book, Western Dreaming: The Western World Is Dying For Want Of A Story offers the stories which serve as archetypes, narratives that shape society and answer its members' search for the meaning of life.
Fate
Mother
Origin of evil
Salvation by a god
Self-sacrifice
Soul-mate love
Troubled hero
Value of work
Virtuous sex worker
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The Nine Plots in Fairy Tales and Myths
by Denis Johnston and Robert Blake*
Boy meets girl plus obstacles
Debt that must be paid
Fatal flaw
Gift that is taken away, loss followed by search
Homeless loner*
Irrepressible winner
Love triangle
Spider and the fly - wiles lure unsuspecting victim to destruction
Virtue unrecognized and then recognized
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Updated
2/13/08
by Maria Garcia - HyperClass[at]Hotmail.com | Top
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