ABSTRACT
Literary theme is a usefully loose notion, in at least two senses. As a theoretical term, it has flexibility that allows us to talk about certain aspects of literature—what literary works are about, how they hang together as works, what is important and good about them—without resolving further questions on which there is disagreement. The latter concern, centrally, whether literary works make claims and offer support for those claims. How directly and responsibly do literary themes make “real-world” commitments? And second, there is looseness in literary themes themselves, as bearers of content that seem to have a built-in openness to movement of thought, to expansion, contraction and change of perspective. I will consider views about what a theme is and how it functions, and what grounds themes in a work. I will then respond broadly to the question of their real-world grip. Skeptics about the idea that theme engages us in responsible cognitive activity are right that truth is not an essential thematic value, but the phenomena of theme in literature do include concerns for truth and for other forms of cognitive value. What we do with literary themes represents a model of what it is to think about something, and this model speaks well to various aspects of human nature and conditions of life, in particular our need and capacity to change perspectives and interests. Literary thematic thinking of course has constraints and possibilities that are specific to engaging with literary works, so it does not transfer straightforwardly to thinking about our lives. Nonetheless, thinking about literary themes has a fruitful relation to thinking about and understanding life.
