theme

In narratology, literary criticism, film studies, dramatics, and related disciplines, a theme is any major topic, subject, or message within a story. Themes are ideas that are central to a story, which can often be summed in a single abstract noun or noun phrase. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of characters, as in the theme of loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem isolated and long for community with others. It may overlap with a thesis: a text's or creator's central argument or position regarding a theme from the story.