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theme
has definitions from the fields of fine art,writing,linguistics,education,music
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[ noun ] the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
Examples "he didn't want to discuss that subject" "it was a very sensitive topic" "his letters were always on the theme of love" Used in print ("Editorials"...)In all the bitter in-fighting , the squabbles over election procedures , the complicated numbers_game that East and West played on the assistant secretaries ' theme , the gentleman from Burma showed himself both as a man of principle and a skilled diplomat . (Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)In a certain perfectly definite way , the method and the theme of his stories are one_and_the_same . In method as_well_as in theme this little anecdote with its details selected as much for expressiveness and allegory as for `` realism '' , anticipates a kind of musical_composition , as_well as a kind of fictional composition , in which , as Leverku^hn says , `` there shall be nothing unthematic '' . (Guy Bolton, The Olympians....)She wrote again and now , abandoning for_the_moment the theme of love , she asked for help in the matter of her career . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (fine art,writing) a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
Synonyms Examples "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" Used in print (Charles Wharton Stork, "Verner von Heidenstam"...)Almost nothing is said of Charles ' spectacular victories , the central theme being the heroic loyalty of the Swedish people to their idolized king in misfortune and defeat . (R. F. Shaw, "The `Private Eye`"...)Frequently enough , the police are themselves in_league_with the killer ; Dashiell_Hammett 's Red_Harvest provides a classic example of_this theme . The first of two possible variations on this theme is symbolized by Mickey_Spillane 's Mike_Hammer . (Newton Stallknecht, "Ideas and Literature," in Newton S...)An idea , let us say , may be roughly defined as a theme or topic with which our reflection may be concerned . Again , he may discover embodied within its texture a theme or idea that has been presented elsewhere and at other times in various ways . |
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[ noun ] (music,fine art) melodic subject of a musical composition
Synonyms Examples "the theme is announced in the first measures" "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it" |
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[ noun ] (writing,education) an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
Synonyms Examples "he got an A on his composition" Related terms |
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[ verb ] provide with a particular theme or motive
Examples "the restaurant often themes its menus" Related terms |
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