Examples of Common Themes in Literature

Themes Examples: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Themes in Literature

Every story—from ancient epics to modern novels—explores ideas that reach beyond plot. These underlying ideas, or themes, help readers discover deeper layers of meaning within a narrative. Whether you’re studying fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, or drama, understanding theme is essential for literary analysis.

At IvyResearchWriters.com, students frequently ask:
“What is a theme?”
“What does theme mean?”
“How do I identify themes in books?”

This extensive guide explores the theme definition, provides dozens of theme examples, and walks you through the most common themes in literature, complete with definitions, classic examples, and guidance on interpreting themes in your own readings or academic writing.

Theme in Literature

A theme in literature refers to the central idea, underlying message, or deeper meaning of a story. While a plot tells you what happens, a theme explains why it matters.

Theme Definition (Theme Literary Definition)

A theme is the main idea or deeper message an author explores in a literary work through its characters, conflicts, plot, and setting.

Themes are not usually stated outright. Instead, they emerge gradually as the story unfolds. Themes require interpretation and critical thinking—skills IvyResearchWriters.com helps students sharpen in their essays and coursework.

Examples of Themes Found Across Literature

• Good and evil
• Life and death
• Identity and belonging
• Love and sacrifice
• Power and corruption
• Loneliness and isolation
• Coming of age
• Fate and destiny

These recurring ideas appear in countless literary texts because they address universal concerns and human dilemmas.

Common Themes in Literature

Common themes in literature often reflect experiences shared across cultures and generations. When analyzing stories, recognizing these themes helps readers connect plot and character with broader philosophical questions.

Common Literary Themes Include:

• The circle of life – the natural progression from birth to death
• Fear and courage – characters confronting internal or external dangers
• Human weakness – flaws, temptations, and moral challenges
• Good versus evil – struggles between opposing moral forces
• Identity – discovering one’s place in the world
• Society and prejudice – confronting injustice and discrimination
• Hubris – excessive pride leading to downfall, a theme common in Greek tragedy
• Freedom – personal, cultural, or political liberation

These common literary themes help shape the story’s theme and question what it means to be human.

Examples in Classic Literature

• To Kill a Mockingbird – racial injustice, moral courage, coming of age
• Lord of the Flies – theme of power, savagery, and collapse of civilization
• Wuthering Heights – unrequited love, revenge, and emotional destruction
• The Great Gatsby – the illusion of the American Dream, identity, and disillusionment

Each text uses its narrative to reveal deeper truths or moral questions.

Common Theme

A common theme is a message that appears in many stories across cultures and genres. Certain themes endure because they speak to fundamental human experiences.

Examples of Common Themes:

• Theme of survival – characters fighting physical or emotional challenges
• Theme of power – ambition, leadership, corruption
• Theme of loneliness – alienation or emotional isolation
• Theme of love – romantic, familial, unrequited, or self-love
• Theme of identity – self-discovery, reinvention
• Theme of death – mortality, grief, and legacy

These themes help build a narrative’s emotional depth and shape the central theme of a story.

Literary Theme

A literary theme goes beyond surface-level storytelling. It emerges through the author’s story structure, story elements (characters, conflicts, events), and use of literary devices like symbolism, motifs, imagery, and metaphor.

Examples of Literary Themes in Well-Known Texts

• Heroism – the protagonist must rise to challenges (Beowulf, The Odyssey)
• Hubris (excessive pride) – leads to downfall (Oedipus Rex, Macbeth)
• Good versus evil – moral struggles (Lord of the Rings)
• Coming-of-age stories – growing up through adversity (The Outsiders, Anne of Green Gables)
• Fate – characters unable to escape destiny

Each literary theme raises philosophical questions readers can explore long after the story ends.

Theme Examples

Seeing concrete examples helps clarify how theme functions within a story. These theme examples demonstrate how writers embed deeper meaning within narrative events.

Theme Examples in Books

• Good versus evil – Harry Potter, where characters must choose between moral forces
• Power and corruption – Animal Farm, where power distorts ideals
• Identity and belonging – The Catcher in the Rye
• Survival – The Hunger Games, where characters must endure extreme situations
• Fate – Romeo and Juliet, where destiny shapes tragedy
• Circle of life theme – The Lion King, showing renewal and loss

Each example of theme illustrates how authors explore universal concerns.

List of Themes

Writers often explore several themes simultaneously. This list of themes in literature provides a comprehensive starting point for identifying the central theme of any text.

Extensive List of Themes in Literature

• Love
• Death
• Fate
• Power
• Survival
• Friendship
• Identity
• Justice
• Freedom
• Revenge
• Prejudice
• Betrayal
• Redemption
• Sacrifice
• Moral dilemma
• Hope
• Memory
• Trauma
• Violence
• Isolation
• Ambition
• Hubris
• Forgiveness
• Coming of age
• Good and evil
• Resilience
• Pride
• Loss
• Destiny
• Knowledge
• Family

These themes guide readers toward the deeper meaning of the text.

Theme of a Story

The theme of a story represents the message the writer wants to convey. It is not simply the plot but the insight behind the plot.

Theme of a Story Explores:

• The protagonist’s growth
• Emotional or psychological conflict
• Social commentary
• Philosophical meaning
• Moral lessons
• Questions of identity, power, or fate

For example:

• The theme of identity appears in stories where characters search for belonging.
• The theme of power emerges when leadership or corruption plays a central role.
• The theme of survival appears when characters fight both external threats and internal fears.

Theme Definition (Expanded)

Here is a clearer, expanded theme definition:

A theme is the foundational idea that shapes a story. It is the deeper meaning that writers embed in the narrative, offering insight into human behavior, society, morality, or universal truths.

Themes provide the intellectual and emotional backbone of a narrative.

Coming of Age

The coming-of-age theme is among the most beloved and widely taught in literature. These stories follow young characters as they navigate maturity, responsibility, and moral awakening.

Common Features of Coming-of-Age Stories

• Innocence to experience
• Disillusionment
• Identity struggles
• Social expectations
• Emotional growth

Coming-of-age texts include:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Outsiders
• A Separate Peace

These stories ask readers to reflect on what it means to grow up.

Universal Themes

Universal themes appear across eras, cultures, and genres because they reflect shared human experiences.

Examples of Universal Themes

• Love and loss
• Fate and destiny
• Good versus evil
• Coming of age
• Power and corruption
• Identity and belonging
• Life and death

These timeless themes give literature its enduring relevance.

Fate

Fate is a powerful literary theme that explores whether characters control their lives or whether events are predetermined.

Classic Example

In Oedipus Rex, fate rules the characters’ lives. No matter what choices they make, prophecy still unfolds—making fate one of literature’s most compelling themes.

Themes in Books

Across genres, cultures, and historical eras, themes in books help readers make sense of plot, character, and moral conflict.

Examples of Themes in Books

• Lord of the Flies – power, savagery, fear, collapse of order
• Wuthering Heights – obsession, unrequited love, revenge
• Kill a Mockingbird – racial injustice, courage, empathy
• Frankenstein – ambition, hubris, creation vs. destruction

Because themes are universal, the best books often explore multiple themes at once.

Conclusion

Understanding themes examples is essential for analyzing literature with depth. Themes such as coming of age, fate, identity, and power reveal the emotional and philosophical underpinnings of stories. Whether you are studying themes in books, exploring universal themes, or analyzing complex works like Wuthering Heights or Lord of the Flies, identifying themes helps you interpret literature at a deeper level.

At IvyResearchWriters.com, we guide students in analyzing themes, structuring essays, and producing articulate academic writing that demonstrates insight and clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the example theme?

An example theme is a central idea or message that a writer explores within a piece of literature. Because theme is an idea rather than a plot event, it reveals the deeper meaning behind what happens in the story. For instance, the good vs. evil conflict is one of the most common and powerful literary themes; many works of literature use this theme to show the moral struggle between right and wrong.

Examples include:

• A group of boys stranded on an island who collapse into savagery—a story that ends with death, exploring the darkness in human nature.
• A hero who must resist temptation and choose integrity over corruption.

IvyResearchWriters.com helps students identify the story’s moral and articulate the theme clearly in essays and assignments.

What are the themes?

Themes are the underlying messages, insights, or core ideas that writers weave into a narrative. Themes often address universal human experiences—love, identity, power, fate, jealousy, loss—which is why readers connect deeply with them.

Some Core Themes You Can Look At Include:

• Good vs. evil
• Hubris theme (hubris refers to excessive pride leading to downfall)
• Identity and belonging
• Love and sacrifice
• Survival and resilience
• Power and corruption
• Fate and destiny

These different themes appear across countless works of literature because they reflect the emotional and moral questions that humans face. If you want to write a story, understanding these core themes helps you structure your message with purpose.

IvyResearchWriters.com can guide you in analyzing or writing about these themes with academic precision.

What is a theme word example?

A theme word example is a single word or short phrase that captures the essence of the deeper message explored in a story. These words represent the abstract ideas behind a narrative rather than its events.

Examples include:

• Power
• Identity
• Revenge
• Hubris
• Freedom
• Hope
• Corruption
• Survival

These theme words help summarize the theme of a book or text you are analyzing. For example, if a novel focuses on pride leading to destruction, “hubris” would be the key theme word.

At IvyResearchWriters.com, we help students turn these theme words into clear analytical paragraphs and thesis statements.

What is an example of a theme in writing?

An example of a theme in writing is a recurring idea that the piece of literature develops from beginning to end. Themes provide coherence, emotional depth, and philosophical significance to a story.

Examples Include:

• Hubris theme – A character’s excessive pride leads to disaster; a classic example in tragedies.
• Good vs. evil – The battle between moral choices.
• Power and its consequences – A character gains power but loses morality.
• Loss of innocence – Common in coming-of-age narratives.
• Identity – The search for self; one theme that appears in many modern novels.

Writers can use this theme intentionally to shape the reader’s experience and highlight the story’s moral. For example, in Lord of the Flies, the narrative explores themes of human nature, fear, and power when a group of boys stranded without adults spirals into chaos that ultimately ends with death.

Understanding how to identify—and write about—these themes is essential for academic success. IvyResearchWriters.com specializes in helping students analyze subtle literary meanings and craft high-quality essays.