Theme 文學(xué)原理教程

1、整理課件Theme整理課件Definition- The central idea or statement about life that unifies and controls the total work.整理課件 A theme may be stated or implied. It is the perception about life or human nature that the writer wants to communicate.整理課件Misconceptions about Theme1. Each a novel has a theme / themes.整理

2、課件Theme only exists in the novel that seriously attempts to reflect life faithfully; intends to reveal truth about life; are based on ideas or theories of life.整理課件Eg: Novels of ratiocination (推理) / horror have no theme.- They are aimed at entertaining the reader, not at improving his understanding

3、of life.整理課件2. The theme is largely what the novel is.整理課件 The difference between Theme & Novel: Theme - An abstract idea appealing solely to the intellectual level of reading Vitamins Novel - A work of art appealing to the emotional level Vegetables整理課件3. The theme is confused with a moral or l

4、esson.整理課件 Moral / Lesson the advice stated or implied in a parable / fable; sth. of a rule by which one can regulate his behavior.Eg: - Be kind to your neighbours. - Honesty is the best policy.整理課件 Theme - More complicated as a novel is to enhance ones awareness of life rather than simply to tell h

5、im how to behave.整理課件4. One novel has only one theme. Some have several subthemes to the main theme. Some are appreciated for their thematic ambiguity.整理課件5. The theme is confused with the subject. 整理課件 Subject - A matter / an affair Theme - An idea Subject - The topic on which an author has chosen

6、to write. Theme - Some statement about or some opinion on that topic. 整理課件Eg: Love - Subject Love is invincible. - Theme War - Subject War is useless. - Theme 整理課件 Theme - Particular to the novel, though some are similar; Subject - Universal.Eg: The Scarlet Letter The Great Gatsby Women in Love Subj

7、ect - Love Theme - Different整理課件Five Requirements for Stating a Theme A theme must be expressed in the form of a statement with a subject and a predicate.Eg: “Love of ones country often inspires heroic self-sacrifice”.整理課件 Pay attention to its convertibility to sentence form if a theme is stated in

8、the phrase form.Eg: “Futility of envy” Envy is futile. “Selfless maternal love” Maternal love is selfless. 整理課件2. Names of characters & places should not be mentioned.- The theme is a generalization about life based on the novel, and the statement of theme should be true also of other people or

9、life situations.整理課件Eg: Wuthering Heights - Peoples psychology of revenge - Heathcliffs psychology of revenge 整理課件3. Though a theme is a generalization, overgeneralization should be avoided.整理課件 Since a theme is extracted from a particular novel / event, it may not be applicable to all situations. A

10、lways / never / all / every - be avoided Some / sometimes / may - be used整理課件 When making a generalization, one should strictly keep to what is actually in the novel and not smuggle into it assumptions supplied from his past experience.整理課件4. The theme must account for all the major details and must

11、 not be contradicted by any details in the novel.整理課件5. One should avoid reducing a theme to a clich or platitude since a theme is different form a moral or a lesson.Eg: “Beauty is only skin-deep”. 整理課件Some ThemesSome Themes Justice prevails. Love conquers all. Society will always overwhelm the indi

12、vidual. Children often see more clearly than adults. Theres no place for the artist in the jungle. 整理課件Where to Look for the Theme1. How the novel is entitled. - The central theme of the novel is sometimes present in the title.整理課件Eg: Pride and Prejudice - About Darcys Pride Elizabeth Bennets Prejud

13、ice整理課件2. How the novelist shows his interest. - If the novelist is interested in sth., he would allow more space to it, describing or narrating in great detail.整理課件3. How the novelist deals with a common subject. - If the novelist treats the common subjects in an uncommon way, it shows that he is t

14、rying to convey sth. new or important in the novel.整理課件 4. Important symbols. - Symbols are loaded with important meanings. So if a symbol appears repeatedly or at important moments, it may point to the theme of the novel.Eg: The Scarlet Letter - the letter “A”整理課件Analyzing Theme1. Does the work hav

15、e a theme? Is it stated or implied?2. What generalization(s) / statement(s) about life / human experience does the work make? 整理課件3. What elements of the work contribute most heavily to the formulation of the theme?4. Does the theme emerge organically and naturally, or does the author seem to force

16、the theme upon the work?整理課件5. What is the value / significance of the works theme? Is it topical or universal in its application?整理課件 主題： 是故事的意義； 是作者對(duì)題材的某種評(píng)論，不論明示或暗示； 是作者在寫作過(guò)程中，與讀者在閱讀過(guò)程中所發(fā)現(xiàn)的總意義； 也是人類欲使經(jīng)驗(yàn)意義化的一種小說(shuō)形式的反映。整理課件A Rose for Emily Death1. Funeral of Emily;2. Death of Emilys father;3. Death o

17、f old lady Wyatt, Emilys great-aunt; 4. Corpse of Homer Barron整理課件 The Decline of the Old South 1. At one time, the Grierson home was in one of the finest neighborhoods in Jefferson; by the time of Emilys death, “. . . garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of t

18、hat neighborhood.” 整理課件2. The reaction to the Yankee, Homer Barron: - The younger generation finds it easier to accept Homer, while the older folks find his relationship with a woman born to old Southern gentility unacceptable. 整理課件 Community Vs. Isolation - The odd relationship between the town of Jefferson and Emily. 整理課件1. At her funeral, the narrator notes that Emily has been “. . .a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligati