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Understanding Theme and Premise
Holly Bayling-Fields asks: My writers' group is working on
the basic fiction writing topics like plot, setting, theme,
and premise. I'm still confused about theme and premise.
Can you explain them and outline the differences for me?
Response: Relax, Holly! Many writers have the same problem
you do when it comes to understanding theme and premise.
Writers have an insider "craft" language and use terms in
very specific ways that can differ from the ways laypeople
use them. The confusion you feel about theme probably stems
from this difference in understanding. Premise can be
confusing, because it's a term that most folks don't use in
their daily conversation, so for many writers, premise is an
"empty shell" word: you see it, but it's hollow. You can
read it, but you don't really know what it means. What you
need is a simple explanation of both points in writer's
terms, so let's see if we can give it to you here.
Theme
I know you're American, so let' take an example from your
life: You celebrate Thanksgiving each year. You may also go
to Fourth of July celebrations and Valentine Day parties.
These celebrations revolve around what most of our laypeople
would call a theme. They'd say, the themes were:
What the people are actually naming is the expression of the
theme, the story if you like. They are talking about the
particular way a theme is expressed in a specific case.
When we talk about theme in connection with writing, we mean
something different--something more fundamental.
Let's go back to our celebrations, because each one has a
real theme, the kind of theme we talk about in writing, too.
To find the theme of each celebration, ask yourself what it
is you actually honor on each of these days. What is the
celebration (or the story) about? What's the issue?
You may then decide that:
The clothes, songs, flags, food, rituals, parades and all
the other celebration props are what you use to express the
theme--what you use to tell the specifically American
version of your story about gratitude, independence, and
love. People in other countries also celebrate feasts with
the themes of gratitude, independence, and love, though the
way they do it, the props and rituals they use, may differ
considerably from those you know in America. The same is
true in fiction: many stories are about the same theme, but
each story has a different setting, other characters,
objects and an individual way of looking at the topic.
Activity Break: Theme
Here are some events. What do you think is the theme of each
of these events? (Some events can have more than one theme.)
Though you may start off with a sentence to describe what
you see as the meaning behind the feast, keep going, and
reduce your theme to one word, as I did above with
gratitude, independence, and love.
After a few stabs at the activity, you may discover that
theme is almost always an ideal: an abstract noun.
An abstract noun is the name of a quality, state, action or
emotion. The thing named cannot be seen, heard, tasted, or
touched in the real or everyday sense, though you do
experience its effects on your life.
Some examples are: wisdom, truth, justice, talent, love,
belief, faith, envy, courage, dignity, beauty, compassion,
hunger, joy, responsibility, wealth, poverty, and nobility.
In short, the theme is the underlying idea, the event or
story is the individual expression of that idea.
Premise
Now you've got a handle on theme, let's see if we can get to
grips with premise as well. We can use our celebration days
for that, too. We've already agreed on the themes of each of
our celebrations. To get at the premise, all you need to do
is ask yourself about the specific message attached to the
theme (gratitude, independence, love) in each case. What
kind of gratitude, independence, and love are we talking
about in each case? What value judgment do people make about
them? What do people believe about theme in each story or
celebration context?
Fill in the blanks in the following:
- The underlying theme of Thanksgiving is gratitude for
_(this)_. Being grateful for _(this - same as before)_
leads to _(effect)_.
- The underlying theme of July Fourth is independence in the
sense of _(this)_. Independence in the sense of _(this -
same as before)_ leads to _(effect)_.
- The underlying theme of Valentine's Day is _(this kind
of)_ love between _(these people)_. (This kind of) love
between (same people as before) leads to _(effect)_.
The second statement in each case is a premise. A premise is
a declaration of belief. It usually says or at least implies
that one specific thing leads to or causes another specific
thing:
Premise as a takeaway message in fiction
In fiction, the story you write will illustrate the way in
which your premise turns out to be correct. Each story will
leave the reader with the premise you created as a takeaway
message.
Premises can also take the form of sayings. In fact, many of
the fables and parables we heard as children existed simply
to teach us the way in which the story message was true.
Theme: Pride
Theme: Honesty
Theme: Wealth
Activity Break: Premise
Here are some themes. Write down a premise (statement) you
believe to be true about each theme.
Examples:
Theme: beauty
Theme: brotherhood
Theme: compassion
Theme: courage
Theme: dignity
Theme: envy
Theme: faith
Theme: hunger
Theme: joy
Theme: justice
Theme: love
Theme: nobility
Theme: openness
Theme: poverty
Theme: questing
Theme: responsibility
Theme: sin
Theme: talent
Theme: truth
Theme: wealth
Theme: wisdom
The value of defining theme and premise
The value of defining theme and premise before you write is
that knowing them will help you keep your story on track. If
you know the message you want to share (premise) and the
background against which you want to make it (theme), you'll
be able to feel confident about the focus and direction of
your writing.
Activity Break: Theme and Premise
Example theme: Love
Example premise 1: Love conquers fear
Example premise 2: Love is eternal
Theme: Love
Theme: Freedom
Theme: Independence
Theme: Truth
Theme: Justice
Try out a few theme and premise exercises to get a feel for
the issues. When you've done that, see if you can explain
what you've learned to your writers' group. Doing that will
help all this gel in your mind.
About the Author: Susan J. Letham is a British writer and Creative Writing
lecturer. Visit Inspired2Write for articles and prompts and
creative writing courses: http://www.Inspired2Write.com/
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