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In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative. [1] Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject". [2] Themes are often distinguished from premises.
Name Definition Example Setting as a form of symbolism or allegory: The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction; sometimes, storytellers use the setting as a way to represent deeper ideas, reflect characters' emotions, or encourage the audience to make certain connections that add complexity to how the story may be interpreted.
Biography: a written narrative of a person's life; an autobiography is a self-written biography. Memoir: a biographical account of a particular event or period in a person's life (rather than their whole life) drawn from personal knowledge or special sources (such as the spouse of the subject). Misery literature; Slave narrative. Contemporary ...
Born in Spain in the 16th century, the picaresque novel is a type of narrative told in the first person by a lowborn protagonist ("pícaro") in a realistic setting, often with a satiric tone. Plot and character development is limited. Famous examples are Lazarillo de Tormes and Mateo Alemán's Guzmán de Alfarache.
For example, novelist and literary critic Adam Mars-Jones wrote, "[Booker] sets up criteria for art, and ends up condemning Rigoletto, The Cherry Orchard, Wagner, Proust, Joyce, Kafka and Lawrence—the list goes on—while praising Crocodile Dundee, E.T. and Terminator 2". [7]
Ernst Robert Curtius studied topoi as "commonplaces", themes common to orators and writers who re-worked them according to occasion, e.g., in classical antiquity the observation that "all must die" was a topos in consolatory oratory, for in facing death the knowledge that death comes even to great men brings comfort. [2]
Epic – a very long narrative poem, often written about a hero or heroine and their exploits. Epic poem – a lengthy story of heroic exploits in the form of a poem. Essay - a short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point; Fable – a didactic story, often using animal characters who behave like people.
Epic is a narrative genre characterised by its length, scope, and subject matter. The defining characteristics of the genre are mostly derived from its roots in ancient poetry (epic poems such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey).