What is a recurring theme through out literature?

Paradise C: What is a recurring theme through out literature?
Not ‘love’ please. What is an interesting topic to write about? I have to write about something similiar between old literature and new literature.

Answers and Views:

Answer by address man
GREED

Answer by Phoenix Tears
Redemption and second chances.

Answer by Greedy Fly
Human nature, which I guess included love.
Lessons in morality?

Answer by firedragon
the definition of what it means to be human

Answer by shyNquiet
the human condition is a good one. Its far reaching and varies greatly. I fond writing about what you know for started is good ,because its a window into your perspective in a way, like something you want to tell people about that they may not know already.

Answer by Helper
….

Answer by Fish
lemonhead

Answer by Caitlyn S
natural and real life death hardships ect. if looking for a good topic pull some from a tree grows in brooklynd by betty smith its a classic novel and very interesting

Answer by LadyMady
Man vs nature
man vs man
man vs evil
man vs time
man vs women
man vs himself.

Answer by Alybaby
Murder …. Envy, power and greed always lead to murder: whether it be poison, sword stabbing, battles someone always dies at a dramatic climax.

Answer by Felix*
Growing up/Adolescence is a good one to write about because you can easily relate 🙂

Answer by patticharron
Alienation, death, transformation, redemption, conflict with nature or society, the whole “fish out of water” concept . . .

Check out this site:

https://www.sjsu.edu/

Answer by Joe
good vs. evil
poor man vs rich man
man vs himself

Answer by lamar7969
Leaving home on an adventure with a bright future and with evertyhing you need. Then returning home with nothing and very humbled by what you have gone through and seen.

Answer by LM
A lot of recurring themes I notice is man vs. nature or man vs. unknown. Meaning…a person can be against nature or a person can be fighting against the unknown like a monster or something of the sorts. I hear too much about love in Lit.

Hopes this helps a tid bit. 😛

Answer by spiffyspat
Well, I just got done writing a 15 page paper on how literature parallels history. It’s quite obvious to see and fairly easy to write about. I took examples of old literature from both the Romantic and Colonial period and described events that occurred throughout history and are also evident in the literature. I also portrayed several recurring themes such as the lack of femininity in James Fenimore Cooper’s the Last of the Mohicans and Herman Melvilles Moby-Dick.You could also work with this and add some modern literature. It’s a very flexible topic that requires minimal historical research. Hope this helps!

Answer by Melissa L.
Basic animal instincts and survival (possibly of the fittest).

Answer by Maltese Breeder
The Theme defines theme as a central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work. A theme can be expressed as a general statement about human beings or about life. The theme of a work is not a summary of its plot, but instead is the writer’s central idea.

An idea would be to write about something that interest you, you can write it like you completely know about the topic, or you can write it in question form to let the reader draw their own conclusion— Good luck!!

Answer by aida
The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, is about a quest for eternal life.

Answer by robyn a
well in alot of “older literature” was based around ‘love’ what is was to be in love, how it was to fall in love, and the amazing emotions that go with it. A big one that comes to mind is Shakespeare.

The only other recurring theme I can think of is death and dying or birth and being born.

Answer by Anonymous
Well, according to Harold Bloom, Shakespeare “invented the human” (the modern human) as his plays, however derivative, entered into the cultural consciousness, effectively becoming “models” of behavior. That said, Hamlet (chosen as an example because of its popularity) provides SEVERAL themes that, as another user pointed out, fall into the blanket category of “the human condition.” One theme in particular, however, was played-up by Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead; that being the theme of identity. At points in the play, the eponymous characters cannot identify themselves. This parallels Hamlet’s now-hackneyed, existential musing “to be or not to be.” So, identity has, using those two examples, been a concern of literature from Shakespeare (longer if you use Oedipus Rex as a precedent) to the present. What’s more…if you want to be a little tongue-in-cheek “identity” allows you to use any number of pop culture/spy movie references.