What is "theme"

Theme \Theme\, n. [OE. teme, OF. teme, F. th[`e]me, L. thema, Gr. ?, fr. ? to set, place. See Do, and cf. Thesis.]

1. A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks; a proposition for discussion or argument; a text.

   My theme is alway one and ever was.
   --Chaucer.

   And when a soldier was the theme, my name Was not far off.
   --Shak.

2. Discourse on a certain subject.

   Then ran repentance and rehearsed his theme.
   --Piers Plowman.

   It was the subject of my theme.
   --Shak.

3. A composition or essay required of a pupil.
   --Locke.

4. (Gram.) A noun or verb, not modified by inflections; also, that part of a noun or verb which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) in declension or conjugation; stem.

5. That by means of which a thing is done; means; instrument. [Obs.]
   --Swift.

6. (Mus.) The leading subject of a composition or a movement.

early 14c., "subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks," from Old French tesme (13c., with silent -s- "indicating vowel length" [OED], Modern French thème) and directly from Latin thema "a subject, thesis," from Greek thema "a proposition, subject, deposit," literally "something set down," from root of tithenai "put down, place," from PIE *dhe-mn, from root *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Meaning "school essay" is from 1540s. Extension to music first recorded 1670s; theme song first attested 1929. Theme park is from 1960.

n. 1 A subject of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic. 2 A recurring idea; a motif. 3 (context music English) The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations. 4 (context film television English) A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time. 5 (context computing figuratively English) The collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc., that "skin" an environment towards a particular motif. 6 (context grammar English) The stem of a word 7 (context linguistics English) thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb 8 (context linguistics English) theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory. 9 (context linguistics English) topic, what is generally being talked about, as opposed to rheme 10 A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire. vb. (context computing transitive English) To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).

v. provide with a particular theme or motive; "the restaurant often themes its menus"

1. n. the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; "he didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of love" [syn: subject, topic]

2. a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" [syn: motif]

3. (music) melodic subject of a musical composition; "the theme is announced in the first measures"; "the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it" [syn: melodic theme, musical theme, idea]

4. an essay (especially one written as an assignment); "he got an A on his composition" [syn: composition, paper, report]

5. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root, root word, base, stem, radical]

Theme or themes may refer to:

• Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
• Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative girth district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
• Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software.
• Theme (linguistics), topic
• Theme (magazine)
• Theme Building, a landmark building in the Los Angeles International Airport
• Theme music, a piece often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or film, and usually played during the intro, opening credits or ending credits
• Theme vowel or thematic vowel, a vowel placed before the word ending in certain Proto-Indo-European words
• The Theme, a 1979 Soviet film
• Theme, a musical idea, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based; see Subject (music)

In computing, a theme is a preset package containing graphical appearance details. A theme usually comprises a set of shapes and colors for the graphical control elements, the window decoration and the window. Themes are used to customize the look and feel of a piece of computer software or of an operating system.

Theme is a 1988 album by Leslie West. It featured Jack Bruce and Joe Franco.

The themes or themata (; singular θέμα, thema) were the main administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic invasion of the Balkans and Muslim conquests of parts of Byzantine territory, and replaced the earlier provincial system established by Diocletian and Constantine the Great. In their origin, the first themes were created from the areas of encampment of the field armies of the East Roman army, and their names corresponded to the military units that had existed in those areas. The theme system reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries, as older themes were split up and the conquest of territory resulted in the creation of new ones. The original theme system underwent significant changes in the 11th and 12th centuries, but the term remained in use as a provincial and financial circumscription, until the very end of the Empire.

In contemporary literary studies, a theme is the central topic a text treats. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject".

The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the theme loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the thesis—the text's or author's implied worldview.

A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as ethical questions, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly. An example of this would be whether one should live a seemingly better life, at the price of giving up parts of one's humanity, which is a theme in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of the components of fiction.

In the arts, a theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by a work, such as a performance, a painting, a motion picture, or a video game. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a work. Themes are usually implied rather than explicitly stated. Deep thematic content is not required in a work, but the great majority of works have some kind of thematic content, not always intended by the author. Analysis of changes (or implied change) in dynamic characteristics of the work can provide insight into a particular theme.

A theme is not the same as the subject of a work. For example, the subject of Star Wars is "the battle for control of the galaxy between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance". The themes explored in the films might be "moral ambiguity" or "the conflict between technology and nature".

Themes differ from motifs in the visual arts in that themes are ideas conveyed by the visual experience as a whole, while motifs are elements of the content. In the same way, a literary story with repeated symbolism related to chess does not make the story's theme the similarity of life to chess. Themes arise from the interplay of the plot, the characters, and the attitude the author takes to them, and the same story can be given very different themes in the hands of different authors.

Theme is a quarterly lifestyle magazine that focuses on contemporary creative culture. In collaboration with a guest curator, the publishers collect stories based on a theme, which allows them to provide a coherent lens onto a topic. Initially covering contemporary Asian culture around the world, they opened their content to expanded topics in 2009. Started by the husband and wife team, Jiae Kim and John H. Lee, in Spring 2005, it was initially published four times a year. In 2008, Theme magazine started publishing bimonthly. In 2009 they returned to a quarterly schedule. The editor-in-chief of the magazine is John H. Lee who also publishes it with Jiae Kim.

In 2006 Theme won many design awards, including the Society of Publication Designers annual competition, and Print's Regional Design Competition. It has been featured in Adobe's advertising for its CS2 line of products.

Theme publishers operate a creative agency, called EMEHT. The agency provides creative services to clients like Dickies, Scion, Nike and fashion brands like Tess Giberson, Doo.Ri, Diane von Fürstenberg, Inhabit, and (capsule) tradeshow. EMEHT also created the logo and branding for Brooklyn Machine Works, a cult brand in the bicycling world.