Originating from the Latin thema , the term theme has various uses and meanings. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) recognizes no less than nine.
A theme can be considered as the subject of a work or a speech. For example: "In his latest novel, the Chilean author addresses the issue of abandoned children" , "The conference will address the issue of import restrictions" , "What will be the subject of your next essay?" .
Another use of the concept refers to the various units that make up an educational program: "The teacher told us that the next topic we will study will be the history of the city" , "Of the ten topics we saw in the semester, I only understood three" , "Tomorrow I will take a test on this topic . "
The word theme, on the other hand, is often used as a synonym for song or musical composition: "My favorite Beatles theme is Hey Jude" , "This is the main theme of the movie Titanic" , "Do you want to hear a theme that did I write recently? » .
As far as music theory is concerned, the theme is the central melody around which all the music in a composition revolves. In some cases it occurs that it is repeated or that variations are created on it, but it is not strictly necessary. This central melody is often used even in other compositions; such is the case in Beethoven's "The six variations of the Ruins of Athens in D Major, Opus 76".
A topic of research, finally, is the question that captures the attention of scientists performing field work.
Research and thesis
At the end of a university degree, students must present a final project, which is called a thesis. It must address a particular topic; that is, have a topic and develop it in detail. It cannot be chosen at random, it is necessary to ask why and why it will be talked about.
To choose the appropriate topic for a thesis, it is necessary to take into account that it must resolve any concern that the student has; Furthermore, it must be related to the job for which you have been preparing during those years of study.
To make the decision, it is advisable to consult with the advisor that the University has assigned to the student, who will know how to guide him not only to choose the appropriate topic, but also to carry out the work in an orderly and efficient manner. It is also usually interesting for the student to study a method or form of work that is normally used in their area and break it down to the point of finding those problems that they may present and devise a more efficient way of working.
It is essential that before starting it is clear how the topic will be dealt with and what subtopics will be discussed; it is better to write on a few points and develop them deeply than to point out too many and not detail more than some of them.
Linguistics and literature
In linguistics, the theme is the fragment of a word that remains unchanged during the declension. The last letter of the subject, whether it is a vowel or a consonant, is the one that is in charge of determining which is the inflection paradigm in which the verb or the noun is framed. It should be noted that, when a language evolves, certain changes in phonology can occur that modify the subject.In literature, the theme of a work does not imply the only topic that will be discussed in it, but it will be the nucleus around which the story will develop. For example, in the work «Tears in the rain» by Rosa Montero it could be said that the central theme is the sudden death of replicants due to the artificial alteration of memories; However, other topics such as death, pollution, speciesism, the pain of loneliness and the injustices that govern the life of almost all societies are also addressed.