Literature

Themes in literature are often varied and hidden. Sometimes you can get through an entire book and not realize what the author meant. However, this is a good basic list that you can build from. Remember that some books have multiple themes.

Beauty of simplicity

Capitalism – effect on the individual

Change of power – necessity

Change versus tradition

Chaos and order

Character – destruction, building up

Circle of life

Coming of age

Communication – verbal and nonverbal

Companionship as salvation

Convention and rebellion

Dangers of ignorance

Darkness and light

Death – inevitable or tragedy

Desire to escape

Destruction of beauty

Disillusionment and dreams

Displacement

Empowerment

Emptiness of attaining false dream

Everlasting love

Evils of racism

Facing darkness

Facing reality

Fading beauty

Faith versus doubt

Family – blessing or curse

Fate and free will

Fear of failure

Female roles

Fulfillment

Good versus bad

Greed as downfall

Growing up – pain or pleasure

Hazards of passing judgment

Heartbreak of betrayal

Heroism – real and perceived

Hierarchy in nature

Identity crisis

Illusion of power

Immortality

Individual versus society

Inner versus outer strength

Injustice

Isolation

Isolationism – hazards

Knowledge versus ignorance

Loneliness as destructive force

Losing hope

Loss of innocence

Lost honor

Lost love

Love and sacrifice

Man against nature

Manipulation

Materialism as downfall

Motherhood

Names – power and significance

Nationalism – complications

Nature as beauty

Necessity of work

Oppression of women

Optimism – power or folly

Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice

Patriotism – positive side or complications

Power and corruption

Power of silence

Power of tradition

Power of wealth

Power of words

Pride and downfall

Progress – real or illusion

Quest for discovery

Quest for power

Rebirth

Reunion

Role of men

Role of Religion – virtue or hypocrisy

Role of women

Self – inner and outer

Self-awareness

Self-preservation

Self-reliance

Social mobility

Technology in society – good or bad

Temporary nature of physical beauty

Temptation and destruction

Totalitarianism

Vanity as downfall

Vulnerability of the meek

Vulnerability of the strong

War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy

Will to survive

Wisdom of experience

Working class struggles

Youth and beauty

Movies

Movies generally have one or two themes, but not many more. The themes in movies are often said outright instead of hinted at. Some of the popular themes from movies today include:

Abuse of power

Arrogance

Art

Autonomy

Beating the odds

Beauty

Beliefs

Betrayal

Bible

Bravery

Celebration

Chance

Change

Chaos and order

Children

Circle of life

Coming of age

Common sense

Conservation

Conspiracy

Creation

Crime

Courage

Darkness and lightness

Death

Dedication

Democracy

Desire to escape

Despair

Disillusionment

Economics

Effects from the past

Empowerment

Everlasting love

Evils by humanity

Facing reality

Failure

Family

Fate

Fear

Feminism

Freedom

Friendship

Future

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender rights

God

Good vs Evil

Government

Greed

Growing Up

Happiness

Hate

Heritage

Hero

Heroism

Hope

Humor

Human Nature

Identity

Ideology

Ignorance

Illusion of power

Individuality

Inner peace

Innocence

Isolation

Jealousy

Justice

Kindness

Knowledge

Law

Leadership

Liberty

Life

Logic

Losing hope

Loss of innocence

Lost love

Love and sacrifice

Loyalty

Man vs nature

Man vs man

Man vs self

Man vs machine

Mankind

Maturity

Medicine

Mercy

Morality

Nationalism

Nature

Necessity

Optimism

Neglect

Normality

Opportunity

Optimism

Overcoming

Passion

Patience

Patriotism

Peace

Perfection

Peer pressure

Perseverance

Power and corruption

Prejudice

Pride

Progress

Purpose

Quests

Race

Reality

Redemption

Regret

Religion

Resistance

Reunion

Revolution

Revenge

Sanity

Secrecy

Segregation

Self-awareness

Self-discipline

Simplicity

Society

Social Construct

Solitude

Soul

Suicide

Survival

Technology

Temptation

Time

Tolerance

Travel

Trust

Truth

Universe

Unselfishness

Valor

Vices

Violence

Virtue

War

Waste

Wealth

Wisdom

Willpower

Winning and losing

Xenophobia

Youth

Poetry

Themes in poetry are often quite apparent, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes the theme doesn’t make itself apparent and is instead up to the reader. Reading a poem aloud often helps with understanding the theme. Here are some examples: