When planning your narrative and plot based on the structure we have already looked at, you must think about what the themes are of your story and make sure that this stays consistent throughout.
A theme is the central meaning of the narrative. The characterisation, plot and setting all contribute to the theme of the narrative. There can be more than one theme in a narrative but as you will be writing a short story in the exam you will probably only have one main theme.
Having a theme allows a writer to express ideas or issues raised within the story. There are main themes and minor themes:
- Main themes are ideas that are consistent throughout the narrative – normally, the minor themes revolve around one main theme in a text.
- Minor themes refer to an idea that is briefly expressed in the narrative. The minor themes revolve and relate to the main theme in a text.
When analysing any story, you should consider what the themes of that story are, especially if you are asked to analyse a piece of narrative writing or an extract from a play for one of the longer questions in Section A of the exam. For example, let’s analyse the themes in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. If you are not familiar with this play, then look up the plot summary by searching for it on the internet.
| Main Theme(s) | Ambition. |
| Minor Theme(s) | Fate, Violence, Natural and Unnatural, Masculinity. |
The main theme of Macbeth is ambition. Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s ambition is what drives the narrative forward. Their ambition for Macbeth to become King leads to the violent murder of King Duncan and the other characters that are murdered. Ultimately, every minor theme is driven by the main theme of ambition.
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