What is the theme of the poem, or How not to get lost in the hidden meanings?

Schoolchildren in the literature classes are often given the task of at least superficially analyze the poem in order to better understand its meaning. The overwhelming majority of students take the request to do this analysis as an attempt by teachers to give the most unnecessary task that one can think of at all. However, this task not only broadens the horizon and improves the ability of schoolchildren to think, but also develops creative abilities.

Peculiarities of perception

The theme and the main idea of the poem by different people can be defined in different ways, and differences in interpretation sometimes simply shake. Of course, some teachers work strictly on the textbook, so the student's attempts to explain the verse somehow are perceived in their own way as a whim and unwillingness to observe the sacred standard. Such teachers should remember the main goal of education: first of all - to teach the child to think, and not to cram and repeat what the "smart people" once said. And only one opinion in such a sphere as literature can not be said at all.

Concept and its help in defining the topic

It is noteworthy that not every teacher of literature can easily explain what the theme of the poem is. In lyrical works there is a very fine line between subjectivity and objectivity, and therefore the definition of this concept should sound as simple as possible, so as not to confuse the student more. Defining the topic in the literature is a very delicate matter, which has always been topical. This is just the case when many can say "I understand, but I can not explain". And what about those who do not even understand? It is believed that the main theme of the poem is determined through analysis of its conceptosphere, but this approach is too complex for presentation in school. Whatever it was, it is he who is the most objective. The reader distinguishes the first five or seven associations that arise in him when reading a work, and then searches in the text for the words that caused him these associations. And here is the image that "gets" the most words, and it will be the theme of the poem.

Postmodernism and problems with the search for meaning

We can say that the concept is both the theme and the main idea of the work. Literary scholars sometimes even present the conceptosphere visually in the form of a "web", in the center of which the strongest, basic concept is located, and all other associations are located along the entire periphery. This design allows you to clearly imagine the structure of the poem and highlight all the stylistic means used by the author to create a certain atmosphere. However, after such an analysis, students may not understand what the theme of the poem is. Especially often questions arise when analyzing verses of a controversial nature related to postmodernism, where emphasis is placed on imagery and emotionality. Analyze the works of this direction in general is very difficult, regardless of the form of the narrative. The theme and idea of the poem in this case will be very blurred, multifaceted, unless the author himself explains them in an epigraph or an explanation in a footnote.

Have a question? The answer is

Analysis of the conceptosphere will suit students of the philological department or simply people who understand stylistic devices and can analyze the language. Pupils need a simplified version. In order to explain what the theme of the poem is literally on the fingers, you can use the following algorithm. The theme of the poem is a question that the author asks, and the idea is the answer, which he gives in the course of the narrative. Sometimes the topic can be defined simply on the basis of the name, and the idea has to be struck by the brain. Of course, this explanation is caused by skeptical laughs of linguists and literary critics, but practice shows that it really helps to understand the essence of the definition. For example, in a poem where the author is crying about unrequited love, the theme and idea may be: "Who is to blame for the fact that love is unrequited?" / "No one is to blame, so was fate."

The main difference between the lyrics and prose: the absence of rhyme

The explanation given above helps to understand what the theme of the poem is, but does not go deeply into its hidden meanings. Still, poetry is a very delicate matter, and emotional author's metaphors can be disassembled for hours before their true meaning is understood. Lyrics differ from the bulk of prose just because in it authors often use imaginative stylistic means. This can easily be explained: in the lyric work the poet has less time to impress the reader, since the "rules" of the poem are, more often than not, a few stanzas. In this volume, the author needs to put all his thoughts and experiences, and the best way to do this is to help just stylistic means. Metaphors, allegories, hyperboles, allusions, and also some phonetic techniques (assonance, alliteration) - all this adds to the poetic work of imagery and strengthens its emotional message.

Theme is a matter of author and subtle

It is noteworthy that in modern lyrics sometimes the author himself does not know what his theme is. The poet simply writes what he feels, and hopes that he will be able to evoke the same feelings from the reader. Sometimes, because of excessive imagery, his work seems to be overloaded, and in similar works the reader is very difficult to understand. They do not always see even a hint of an idea, even if the author has several successful collections on his shoulders. In any case, the definition of the topic and the idea of the poem is a very subjective matter. You should not scold students for the fact that in the poem about love they saw a hint of hatred, just praise them for their cleverness.