Theme-文学原理教程课件

1、Theme1精选ppt课件Theme1精选ppt课件Definition- The central idea or statement about life that unifies and controls the total work.2精选ppt课件Definition2精选ppt课件A theme may be stated or implied. It is the perception about life or human nature that the writer wants to communicate.3精选ppt课件3精选ppt课件Misconceptions abou

2、t Theme1. Each a novel has a theme / themes.4精选ppt课件Misconceptions about Theme1. Theme only exists in the novel that seriously attempts to reflect life faithfully; intends to reveal truth about life; are based on ideas or theories of life.5精选ppt课件Theme only exists in the novelEg: Novels of ratiocina

3、tion (推理) / horror have no theme.- They are aimed at entertaining the reader, not at improving his understanding of life.6精选ppt课件Eg: Novels of ratiocination (推2. The theme is largely what the novel is.7精选ppt课件2. The theme is largely what tThe difference between Theme & Novel: Theme - An abstract ide

4、a appealing solely to the intellectual level of reading Vitamins Novel - A work of art appealing to the emotional level Vegetables8精选ppt课件The difference between Theme8精3. The theme is confused with a moral or lesson.9精选ppt课件3. The theme is confused with Moral / Lesson the advice stated or implied in

5、 a parable / fable; sth. of a rule by which one can regulate his behavior.Eg: - Be kind to your neighbours. - Honesty is the best policy.10精选ppt课件Moral / Lesson10精选ppt课件Theme - More complicated as a novel is to enhance ones awareness of life rather than simply to tell him how to behave.11精选ppt课件Them

6、e11精选ppt课件4. One novel has only one theme.Some have several subthemes to the main theme.Some are appreciated for their thematic ambiguity.12精选ppt课件4. One novel has only one them5. The theme is confused with the subject. 13精选ppt课件5. The theme is confused with Subject - A matter / an affair Theme - An

7、 idea Subject - The topic on which an author has chosen to write. Theme - Some statement about or some opinion on that topic. 14精选ppt课件 Subject - A matter / Eg: Love - Subject Love is invincible. - Theme War - Subject War is useless. - Theme 15精选ppt课件Eg: Love - Subject15精选ppt Theme - Particular to t

8、he novel, though some are similar; Subject - Universal.Eg: The Scarlet Letter The Great Gatsby Women in Love Subject - Love Theme - Different16精选ppt课件 Theme - Particular to Five Requirements for Stating a ThemeA theme must be expressed in the form of a statement with a subject and a predicate.Eg: “L

9、ove of ones country often inspires heroic self-sacrifice”.17精选ppt课件Five Requirements for StatingPay attention to its convertibility to sentence form if a theme is stated in the phrase form.Eg: “Futility of envy” Envy is futile. “Selfless maternal love” Maternal love is selfless. 18精选ppt课件18精选ppt课件2.

10、 Names of characters & places should not be mentioned.- The theme is a generalization about life based on the novel, and the statement of theme should be true also of other people or life situations.19精选ppt课件2. Names of characters & placeEg: Wuthering Heights - Peoples psychology of revenge - Heathc

11、liffs psychology of revenge 20精选ppt课件Eg: Wuthering Heights20精选ppt课件3. Though a theme is a generalization, overgeneralization should be avoided.21精选ppt课件3. Though a theme is a general Since a theme is extracted from a particular novel / event, it may not be applicable to all situations. Always / neve

12、r / all / every - be avoided Some / sometimes / may - be used22精选ppt课件 Since a theme is extracted f When making a generalization, one should strictly keep to what is actually in the novel and not smuggle into it assumptions supplied from his past experience.23精选ppt课件 When making a generalization4. T

13、he theme must account for all the major details and must not be contradicted by any details in the novel.24精选ppt课件4. The theme must account for 5. One should avoid reducing a theme to a clich or platitude since a theme is different form a moral or a lesson.Eg: “Beauty is only skin-deep”. 25精选ppt课件5.

14、 One should avoid reducing aSome ThemesJustice prevails.Love conquers all.Society will always overwhelm the individual.Children often see more clearly than adults.Theres no place for the artist in the jungle. 26精选ppt课件Some ThemesJustice prevails.26Where to Look for the Theme1. How the novel is entit

15、led. - The central theme of the novel is sometimes present in the title.27精选ppt课件Where to Look for the Theme1. Eg: Pride and Prejudice - About Darcys Pride Elizabeth Bennets Prejudice28精选ppt课件Eg: Pride and Prejudice28精选ppt2. How the novelist shows his interest. - If the novelist is interested in sth

16、., he would allow more space to it, describing or narrating in great detail.29精选ppt课件2. How the novelist shows his 3. How the novelist deals with a common subject. - If the novelist treats the common subjects in an uncommon way, it shows that he is trying to convey sth. new or important in the novel

17、.30精选ppt课件3. How the novelist deals with 4. Important symbols. - Symbols are loaded with important meanings. So if a symbol appears repeatedly or at important moments, it may point to the theme of the novel.Eg: The Scarlet Letter - the letter “A”31精选ppt课件 4. Important symbols.31精选pptAnalyzing Theme1

18、. Does the work have a theme? Is it stated or implied?2. What generalization(s) / statement(s) about life / human experience does the work make? 32精选ppt课件Analyzing Theme1. Does the wor3. What elements of the work contribute most heavily to the formulation of the theme?4. Does the theme emerge organi

19、cally and naturally, or does the author seem to force the theme upon the work?33精选ppt课件3. What elements of the work c5. What is the value / significance of the works theme? Is it topical or universal in its application?34精选ppt课件5. What is the value / signifi主题：是故事的意义；是作者对题材的某种评论，不论明示或暗示；是作者在写作过程中，与读

20、者在阅读过程中所发现的总意义；也是人类欲使经验意义化的一种小说形式的反映。35精选ppt课件主题：35精选ppt课件A Rose for EmilyDeath1. Funeral of Emily;2. Death of Emilys father;3. Death of old lady Wyatt, Emilys great-aunt; 4. Corpse of Homer Barron36精选ppt课件A Rose for EmilyDeath36精选ppt课件The Decline of the Old South 1. At one time, the Grierson home w

21、as in one of the finest neighborhoods in Jefferson; by the time of Emilys death, “. . . garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood.” 37精选ppt课件The Decline of the Old South 32. The reaction to the Yankee, Homer Barron: - The younger generation fin

22、ds it easier to accept Homer, while the older folks find his relationship with a woman born to old Southern gentility unacceptable. 38精选ppt课件2. The reaction to the Yankee,Community Vs. Isolation - The odd relationship between the town of Jefferson and Emily. 39精选ppt课件Community Vs. Isolation39精选ppt1. At her funeral, the narrator notes that Emily has been “. . .a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the t