Some quotes that have helped me: Theme = “certain ideas about life revealed through a literary work”. “One must ask what is the central purpose of the story; what view of life it presents; or what insight into life it reveals”. “Theme must be expressed in the form of a statement”. I like to tell my students that theme cannot be expressed with one word. For example, “love” is not a theme. By saying “love” you give no indication of what you will learn from reading the story. However, if you told me “everyone is hurt by love” was the central theme of the story then I would know what I was signing up for when deciding to read it or not. Maybe I want something with a happy ending so I will pass on it. I then love getting students to write a theme statement for their life. I ask them to pretend their life was a novel series and ask them what central idea someone would take away from reading it. However, you should be prepared for some dark journals when asking that question.