Comparing
and
Contrasting
Theme
By Vanessa Miller
Learning Targets:
I can define the word THEME.
 I can explain the idea of UNIVERSAL THEMES
 I can identify the themes of a work of art or a
photograph, and cite evidence from the
image that supports my analysis of the
themes.
 I can identify the themes of a poem, and
cite evidence from the poem that supports
my analysis of the themes.
 I can compare and contrast the way in
which a similar theme is presented in an
image and a poem.

Theme
Theme is the dominant
idea or subject in a work
of literature, art, film, etc.
Basically, what is the big
idea of the piece?
How to Identify a Theme
Themes
Themes
Themes
Themes
Themes
are not explicit (not clearly stated).
are implied.
are inferred.
are bigger than the story.
are NOT the same as “morals”
What is a Universal Theme?
Some themes are SO COMMON
and easily understood by the
audience that they are called
UNIVERSAL THEMES. They are
themes that you see all the time
in movies, books, TV shows, works
of art, etc.
Examples of Universal Themes
(this is not at all an exhaustive list)
Acceptance
 Appearance vs. Reality
 Beauty
 Bravery
 Family
 Identity
 Love
 Loss of Innocence

Poverty
Aging
Blue =
Sadness,
Depression
Music
What are
the THEMES
in The Old
Guitarist, by
Picasso?
How do you
know?
What is your
evidence?
The Weary Blues
BY LANGSDON HUGHES
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway. . . .
He did a lazy sway. . . .
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.”
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some
more—
“I got the Weary Blues
And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can’t be satisfied—
I ain’t happy no mo’
And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.
What are the THEMES
of this poem?
How do you know?
What is your evidence?
Now Consider:
How are the themes of The Old Guitarist by
Picasso, and The Weary Blues by Langsdon
Hughes similar? How are they different?
 Both the painting and the poem are about
the power of music to comfort.
 Evidence: Both the old man in the painting
and the blues player in the poem continue
playing in spite of their circumstances.
 One primary difference is that Langsdon
Hughes also incorporates the theme of race
into his poem. As part of the Harlem
Renaissance, the lives of blacks were an
important theme in much of Hughes’ work.
YOUR TURN!!!
What are the THEMES of the
photograph? Of the poem?
How Do you know? What is
your evidence?
How are the THEMES similar?
How are they different?
Nonconformist
by Angela Shelf Medearis
I don't want to be anybody but
myself.
So, I shaved little lines
in my head and
dyed my hair purple
and green
(with just a hint of orange)
and pierced my nose and
hung a gold earring in it,
AS AN EXPRESSION OF WHO I AM
(who am I?).
Of course,
I waited till someone else did it
first. I didn't want anyone to think
I'm weird.
You know what I mean?
Learning Targets:





I can explain define the word THEME.
I can explain the idea of UNIVERSAL THEMES
I can identify the themes of a work of art or a
photograph, and cite evidence from the
image that supports my analysis of the
themes.
I can identify the themes of a poem, and
cite evidence from the poem that supports
my analysis of the themes.
I can compare and contrast the way in
which a similar theme is presented in an
image and a poem.
Sources
Hughes, Langsdon. “The Weary Blues”. The Collected
Poems of Langston Hughes, published by Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc. 1994.
Medearis, Angela Shelf. “Nonconformist”. Skin Deep,
1995.
Picasso, Pablo. The Old Guitarist. 1903.
http://www.pablopicasso.org/old-guitarist.jsp
Stacking Dolls Photograph, Artist Unknown.
http://www.theparentvoice.org/contact.php