How Authors Develop Theme

When writing novels, short stories, plays, and poetry, the author’s ultimate ​purpose is to tell a
story in order to ​develop a theme​.
A ​theme​ in a story is its underlying message or 'big idea.' In other words, ​theme is the critical
belief about life is the author trying to convey.
Obviously, the plot is one way in which the author develops the theme. However, there are
several other ​tools that author’s use in order to develop themes. These are writer ​choices. These
tools are commonly known as ​literary elements​.

Theme = author’s critical belief about life

Literary elements = author’s choice of tools to create and illustrate purpose

A crucial job as a reader of fiction is to be able to ​recognize these literary elements within a
work and make a decision as to ​how these elements illustrate the theme​. In simpler terms, ​you
are recognizing the tools the author uses in order to develop his or her purpose.
When you write and talk about fiction, you should refer to these tools in your analysis. If you
look at your writing rubric, this skill is noted as “​domain specific vocabulary.​” You cannot
properly discuss the author’s purpose without referring specifically to the tools he or she used to
develop it.
Below are some ​common literary elements that you should already know or that you will be
introduced to this year.​ Refer to this paper throughout the year during analyses, both written
and verbal.

alliteration allusion analogy aside

assonance blank verse climax conflict
connotation couplet denotation dialect
diction dramatic irony epithet exaggeration
falling action figurative language flashback foreshadowing
free verse hyperbole imagery irony
metaphor meter monologue mood
narrator paradox parallelism personification
plot protagonist rhyme rising action
setting simile soliloquy stanza
subplot symbol tone verisimilitude