Understanding Themes In Literature

A literary work without a theme may not even be qualified to be classified as literature. This is to say that themes are central to literature. Most poets and novelists begin with the theme in mind before writing a single sentence. A good story doesn’t simply entertain by telling a captivating narrative; it’s supposed to teach a lesson or emphasize a theme. 

A good writer can tell a story well enough while burying the theme or the message beneath the narration. This is called subtext. Often, the difference between a talented writer and an untalented writer is that the talented writer can deliver a message or theme while telling a story that is entertaining and enjoyable in and of itself, whereas an untalented one often sacrifices good storytelling to beat the reader over the head with the message or theme of the story.

However, there are numerous examples of stories or works of literature with obvious messaging and themes being both entertaining and work overall as great literature. A good example of this is Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol (published in). The novel is about the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who is visited by the ghost of his old friend Marley and three ghosts who teach him the consequences of not mending his selfish ways. 

The characterization of Scrooge is direct as opposed to indirect characterization, at the beginning of the novel. And the novel teaches an obvious lesson or theme: Human kindness and generosity (as opposed to wealth and worldly success) lead to happiness and fulfillment. However, it remains a classic of literature and an entertaining read. In this article, we discuss more examples of how themes work in literature. In the process, we compare works from Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman and briefly examine Shakespeare’s Macbeth. 

A depiction of the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff in Macbeth.

What is a theme in literature? 

Themes in literature are quite varied. They can be simple or complex. They can be obvious or subtle. They can be shallow or deep. In some cases, they may even be absent from a work of literature.  Before we proceed, let’s begin with a formal definition of the term:

A literary theme is the central idea or message that drives a narrative and is often based on a universal principle of society or the human condition.

As mentioned earlier, some themes can be deeper than others. For example, the themes in Macbeth are ambitious. They tackle the nature and consequences of evil on the individual man, his family, the society, and even the cosmos. 

This theme is way deeper than that of the nature of modern industrialization, which features in Emily Dickinson’s “I like to See It Lap the Miles” (published in 1891) and Walt Whitman’s “To a Locomotive in Winter” (published in 1876). Both poems are about locomotive trains in the US. 

We can say that both poems celebrate the theme of modern industry triumphing over nature, with Dickinson’s poem being more subtle and Whitman’s being more direct in the statement of its theme. We will take a further look at the similarities and differences in this poem. 

Subtle vs. direct statement of themes

Emily Dickinson’s poem “I like to See it Lap the Miles” is a subtle poem that never directly states the theme. Instead, she relies on careful and intelligent use of literary devices to deliver the point. The main literary device that she uses is the extended metaphor, where the train is likened to a horse. Here are a few stanzas from the poem:

I like to see it lap the Miles —

And lick the Valleys up —

And stop to feed itself at Tanks — 

And then — prodigious step

. . .

And neigh like Boanerges —

Then — prompter than a Star

Stop — docile and omnipotent

At its own stable door —

The poem is comparing the train to a horse in an extended metaphor that stretches throughout all four of the poem’s stanzas. The metaphor can even be described as a metaphysical conceit, a type of extended metaphor developed by English poets such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell in the seventeenth century, which focused on making especially elaborate comparisons between unlike things.

In the first stanza, the train is described as lapping the miles and licking the valleys up. This is a rather innovative use of cliché language. “Lap” and “lick” are common or flat metaphors used in everyday language to describe anything that moves with speed, where fast movement over long distances is compared to an animal drinking up a liquid with ease.

Although a flat metaphor, it is well-chosen as it blends well with the description of a horse while drinking. This effect is further enhanced when the refuelling of the train is compared to a horse eating with the line “feed itself at Tanks.” However, this is not simply a cute or pretty metaphor. 

There is a point to it. Comparing a horse to a locomotive makes sense when we consider that the locomotive was the industrial replacement of the role of the horse in modern civilization in terms of its role in travel, transportation, and warfare. In short, Dickinson’s poem is making a statement on the nature of modern industrial civilization vs nature. 

Walt Whitman more or less states the same theme in his poem “To a Locomotive in Winter,” albeit in a much more obvious manner. Here are a few lines from the poem:

Thy black cylindric body, golden brass, and silvery steel,

Thy ponderous side-bars, parallel and connecting rods, gyrating, shuttling at thy sides . . .

Thy train of cars behind, obedient, merrily following,  

Through gale or calm, now swift, now slack, yet steadily careering;

Unlike Emily Dickinson’s poem, there is no doubt that we are talking about a train here. Whitman’s poem takes the form of a free verse ode to the power and might of a train. Even the title of the poem is more obvious. It mentions winter, the most brutal season of the year when things of nature die. 

The train is portrayed as conquering winter, and we can go so far as to say that the poem is not simply an ode to a train, but an ode to the ability of man to use modern industry to seemingly triumph over nature. Whitman says as much with bald statements such as: 

Type of the modern—emblem of motion and power—pulse of the continent

Both poets are focused on the same theme. Both are making the same point: The locomotive train represents man’s ability to tame nature and achieve modern civilization through industrialization. However, Dickinson makes her point much more subtly. 

The extended metaphor of the horse is an excellent choice as the horse represents man’s earliest drive to civilize nature by taming the wild ancestor of the horse. In short, the horse comparison serves to portray the locomotive train as the latest step in this march to progress. 

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Using plot and action to demonstrate themes

The major theme in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the nature of evil. The play can be described as a justification of the sacredness of kingship. When the protagonist or anti-hero of the play, Macbeth, decides to kill King Duncan, this is portrayed as committing to evil. Shakespeare uses the plot of the play to demonstrate the consequences and nature of evil.

The themes related to the nature of evil include the following:

1. Evil is a personal choice.

2. Evil corrupts, and it corrupts absolutely.

3. Evil unleashes chaos and upends God’s sacred order.

4. Evil is temporary and can never permanently destroy good. 

5. Evil sows the seeds of its own destruction.

We don’t have enough time to go into each of these subthemes in detail. For a more detailed analysis of the themes in Macbeth, you can take a look at this previous article: Macbeth | Themes, Character Analysis, & Symbolism.

Let’s briefly discuss the theme of evil unleashing chaos and upending God’s sacred order. After Macbeth murders Duncan, there are reports of the world retreating from order into chaos. A curious example is the behavior of his horses: 

And Duncan's horses — a thing most strange and certain — 

Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,

Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,

Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make

War with mankind. (Act 2, Scene 5)

It is also said in the same scene that “they ate each other.” This consequence of Macbeth’s evil decision to kill a good king is closely related to the moral logic of kingship that existed in the time of Shakespeare. The king was seen as being appointed by God to uphold order on earth. Harming or killing the king meant disturbing God’s natural order. So just as Dickinson uses the domesticated horse as an icon or symbol of civilization in her poem, Shakespeare uses Duncan’s horses reverting to wildness as a symbol to represent regression from order or civilization into barbarity. 

The most important way in which the plot of Macbeth reflects its theme of evil sowing the seeds of its own destruction is in the rising action and climax of the play. This occurs when Macbeth becomes thoroughly corrupt after choosing evil and decides to first kill Banquo (in the rising action) because a prophecy reveals that Banquo’s descendants will inherit his throne. Macbeth has no children or heir so there is no need to kill Banquo.

But his commitment to evil means that he kills for the mere thrill of it. He descends further into depravity when he decides to kill Lady Macduff, the wife of Macduff, a nobleman and warrior whom he has no quarrel with. Macbeth successfully hires assassins to murder Lady Macduff, her son, and all the servants of the Macduff household simply because Macduff flees to England to escape the chaos that has been unleashed after Macbeth takes the throne. 

This proves to be the turning point or climax of the play. Macduff makes a military alliance with the enemies of Macbeth to avenge the murder of his family, demonstrating the theme that evil sows the seeds of its own destruction. The denouement of the play further proves this by ending with Macduff lopping off Macbeth’s head in mortal combat. 

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2025, November 08). Understanding Themes In Literature. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/themes