Students of literature are often confused when asked to identify the theme or “a theme” of a work of literature.
The word “theme” has several shades of meaning. For example, a web designer may choose a theme (set of colors and layout) for his website. The word “theme” may also refer to “subject” or “main idea.”
But what exactly is the theme of a literary work? The “theme” in a work of literature primarily refers to a “statement about life” or a “general truth” which pervades the literary work.
The theme of a piece of writing is not stated outright by the author. The theme is deduced by the reader. Therefore, a work of literature may carry several possible themes, and each of these themes would be correct if it is justified in the answer.
We can use the Bible story of Samson and Delilah to illustrate the idea of theme in literature.
In summary, Samson was a strong, handsome leader of Israel during a time when Israel was at war with Philistine. He fell in love with a young woman from the enemy country of Philistine.
The leaders of Philistine devised a plan to use the woman, whose name was Delilah, to overcome Samson. Samson possessed supernatural strength and was invincible in battle. As a result, he kept the enemy defeated. But the enemy, suspecting that there was a secret to Samson’s strength, plotted to use Delilah to find out “wherein lies the secret to his great strength.” They offered Delilah a large sum of money which she accepted.
Samson perhaps knew that Delilah would betray him after she kept insisting that he tell her the secret of his strength. But so blinding was his love for Delilah that he told her that his strength was in his hair. Delilah promptly shaved Samson’s hair while he slept on her lap, bound him and handed him over to the Philistines who tortured him until he begged God to restore his strength one last time and brought the building down – committing mass murder and suicide.
By reading the above piece of literature, we can deduce several possible themes:
- Racism and tribalism is real. Even though Delilah probably felt some amount of love for Samson, her loyalty to her “own people” were greater than this force of love. Therefore, she accepted the offer to betray Samson.
- Those who love too strongly will be destroyed. Love sometimes causes us to go against common sense and wisdom, as was the case with Samson. He most likely knew that Delilah would betray him, but his love for her caused him to go against proper judgement.
- Women will choose money over masculine beauty and love anytime. Even though Samson might have been everything a woman desired in a man, the driving force of money seemed to be stronger than her love for him. If we look around our world today, we may also see this general truth playing out all around us.
The above themes which were deduced from the story of Samson and Delilah were all supported with an explanation. When answering a question in English Literature, support or “defend” your answer whenever necessary.
From the book, “English for CXC” by Patrick Carpen.
