As is the case of my other worksheets, this was developed from material obtained from the late Irwin Abrams, former chairperson of Language Arts at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, New York.

The THEME of a story is an IDEA or LESSON which the author wishes to share with his readers.  (Stories may contain several themes.)  A good place to start looking for the theme is to consider the learning experience of the Protagonist.

Title:______________
Author:______________

I. State the theme you have selected.

II. Show how the Theme is presented in the story.  (A theme is either EXPLICIT, stated verbatim in the text; or IMPLICIT, implied or suggested by events in the story.)

III. How do the elements of the story support the theme?
 
            A. Where do you find the theme developed in the
                SETTING?

            B. Where do you find the theme developed by
                CHARACTERIZATION?

            C. Where do you find the theme developed by the
                PLOT?

IV.  Evaluate the theme.

            A. UNIVERSALITY (Show by three vivid, specific
                references if the theme is true for all people at all
                times.)

            B. SIGNIFICANCE (Does the theme show us how we
                 can deal with a problem and make our lives better?
                 Explain your answer in vivid detail.)

Click here for an example of a Theme Worksheet

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