Dr. Len Unsworth
Theme refers to the way a text is organised as a message by the speaker/writer. The term is relevant at several levels of textual organisation. To begin, we will be concerned with it only at the rank of clause. Theme represents the point of departure, the angle, or what the clause will be about.
There are three possible components of Theme - Textual Theme, Interpersonal Theme and Topical Theme. To begin with, we will consider Topical Theme.
In the clause in English, Theme is signalled by the element in first position. The Topical Theme is the Participant or Circumstance (or sometimes Process) that comes first in the clause. In the following text the Topical Themes are in bold. Note that in this text the Topical Themes are the first Participants in each clause:
If a Circumstance comes before any of the Participants in a clause then the Circumstance is the Topical Theme. In the following clause the Topical Theme is "On a hot day":
"On a hot day" is the first Circumstance (telling when) so it is the Topical Theme. Then next Circumstance "in the garden" (telling where) is not Theme because it is not in first position in the clause. And the first Participant "you" is not Theme because it is not in first position in the clause. Note the Circumstances as Topical Themes in the following clauses from the same book:
The part of the clause that is not Theme is referred to as Rheme. The analysis is displayed as follows:
The Topical Theme occurs most commonly as a Participant in the clause. More specifically the Topical Theme occurs most commonly as the Particpant in the clause which is the Subject of the clause. This is the case for all Topical Themes in the "lion" text above. To identify the Subject, you simply add a Mood Tag (like "don't they?" or "isn't it?") and the Subject is what is referred to by the pronoun "they" or "it".
In the "lion' text then, the Topical Themes are all Subjects in the clauses and this is the most common (or unmarked) case. When some element other than the Subject is in Theme position, this is not as common, and is referred to as a Marked Topical Theme. In the following clause the Participant in first position is the Theme but it is not the Subject:
Some further examples where the Participants in first position are not Subjects and are therefore
Marked Topical Themes:
All Circumstances which are Themes are Marked, since Circumstances can never be Subjects. Hence the examples from the ants text above are all Marked Topical Themes:
All major clauses in English have a Topical Theme except some non-finite clauses (see lecture 2) as in the following extract:
In the second clause the Topical Theme has been ellipsed. It could be analysed as follows:
The pattern of Theme selection across all the clauses of a text is related to its purpose. Consider the pattern of Topical Theme selection in the following text about the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein:
The text is set out below with Topical Themes in bold and Marked Topical Themes indicated by an asterisk*.
Notice that the Topical Themes are all dealing with either Wittgenstein or time. Notice also the frequency of Marked Topical Themes and that all of the Marked Topical Themes are concerned with time. Clearly the writer is using this less common grammatical construction to draw the reader's attention to the passage of time. And this is clearly related to the purpose of this genre as a brief biographical recount - reconstructing the sequence of major events in Wittgenstein's life.
How does the pattern of Topical Themes relate to the overall purpose of the following text?
Notice that the only unmarked Theme is "You", so the writer is again using this less common grammatical choice of Marked Topical Theme to draw the reader's attention to something. The progression of Topical Themes operates to bring the focus of the description from a long way away, to the middle distance and finally to a close-up on the animals in question.
The pattern of Topical Theme selection in the following Information Report is different again:
In this text there are no Marked Themes. The title and the first clause (functioning as a Hypertheme) predict the Themes in the following clauses i.e. We can predict from the Hypertheme that the following Themes will be either snakes or their enemies - and, in fact four different enemies are each discussed in turn and so the Themes for these segments concern other snakes, birds of prey, the mongoose and humans. The Themes in information reports are frequently focussed on the same Participant or a small set of related Participants since the organization of the genre involves providing information about a specific phenomenon.
Different genres then have different patterns of Theme selection, whose organization reflect the purpose of the particular genre.
So far we have examined Topical Themes and they have been constructed out of one element - A Participant or a Circumstance. However, as speakers and writers develop a text they try to give it texture, to weave meanings together in a coherent form. This involves making cohesive relationships between clauses using the systems of expansion and projection as discussed in sessions two and three. Clauses linked by expansion make use of the system of Conjunction. Since conjunctions (like "after", "because", "so", "although", "until" etc.) particularly work to signal relationships between clauses, they most often occur at the beginning of clauses and when they do, a multiple Theme structure is formed. In the following sentence the conjunctions are displayed in bold italics:
T5. My brother was shocked when I walked deep and I was only up to my ankles in water.
Both these conjunctions occur at clause boundaries.
T5a. My brother was shocked || when I walked deep || and I was only up to my ankles in water.
The Theme of the second and third clauses therefore comprises two elements, the conjunction and the next element.
T5b. MY BROTHER was shocked WHEN I walked deep AND I was only up to my ankles in water.
The conjunctive element forms the Textual Theme and the following element in these examples forms the Topical Theme.
The convention for formally displaying the analysis is thus:
The system of conjunction also provides resources for relating sentences which are not joined structurally in clause complexes. In the following text, for example we have two separate sentences, each consisting of a single clause:
She did not hand in all of the assignments.
Consequently she failed the course.
In the second clause "Consequently" constructs the cause/effect relationship between the two clauses. It is not a Participant, Circumstance (or a Process) and hence is not a Topical Theme, but since it does occupy first position in the clause, we say it is a Textual Theme. In other words the point of departure for this clause is its logical connection to the previous clause. The Theme analysis for this clause is as follows:
Other words like "consequently" (conjunctive adjuncts) which function as Textual Themes when they are at the beginning of a Clause, are listed on page 106 of An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics (Eggins, 1994).
We can use these concepts to analyse the means through which speaker/writers develop texts. For example, here is the full text, written by James, Year 3, directly into his Writing book at school. His teacher commented on the end of the text:
Good story! Watch `and then'!
One important educational question we might ask is why James used `and then' as he did, and how he might be helped to develop his writing if this form of conjunction is considered inadequate.
The Theme structures for James' text are displayed in small capitals, with each clause numbered. Textual Themes are underlined.
It is easy to see from the Theme structure that the reason for James' use of `and then' is his organisation of the text by the movement of time. The use of the Textual Theme `and then' is consistent with the use of Marked Topical Themes to do with time, such as `in the afternoon' and `then the next day' and is typical of the method of development of a text using the schematic structure of a recount. In response to his teacher's comment perhaps James might have varied his text by changing the `and then' to `later' or `subsequently' etc, but this would not make much difference to the pattern of Theme in the text. Obviously he would need more specific advice than he has been offered in order to develop his text in whatever other form the teacher requires, or more reasonably, to explicitly understand the kind of generic form the teacher requires.
There is a tendency in written explantions for what is the Rheme of one clause to become the Theme of the next clause. The logic of this is that the Theme is the point of departure and new information is introduced at the end of the clause. Now in explanations what is new in one clause becomes the point of departure for the next to enable the explanatory text to progressively move from the known and familiar to the new and unfamiliar. A fairly clear example of this is found in the following explanation of how wool is made into clothing:
(Notice that the non-finite clauses, 2,4,7,16 have no Theme)
As a further example of this Rheme to Theme progression, consider the following section of an explanation of erosion (here there are no Textual Themes):
Sometimes first position in the clause is occupied by element realizing the speaker's/writer's judgment with respect to experiential meanings of the clause. For example:
Possibly the cheapest route would be via Singapore.
The choice of "possibly" contrasts with "certainly" or "probably". These items represent a range of judgments the speaker/writer could make with respect to the liklihood of the Singapore route being the cheapest. In this case the speaker/writer is very tentative in his/her judgment. Now "Possibly" is in first position in the clause, but it is not a Participant or Circumstance (or Process) so it is not a Topical Theme. "Possibly" is also not a conjunction or conjunctive adjunct, so it is not a Textual Theme. Because it is concerned with judgment we call it an Interpersonal Theme. The analysis is displayed as follows:
Some further examples of Interpersonal Themes in italics and Topical Themes in CAPS:
Usually SEA PLANTS have long feathery stems that sway with the water.
Perhaps GLOBAL WARMING will bring some benefits.
Apparently NO FUNDS were provided for more staff.
Certainly HYDRO STATIONS are less polluting than coal fired stations.
Words like "possibly", "usually", "perhaps", "apparently" etc are part of the grammatical system realizing interpersonal meanings. Specifically they are Mood Adjuncts and express probablility, usuality, obligation, inclination or time. A list of these Mood Adjuncts is provided below (see also Eggins, 1994:167 and 279).
Note that these Mood Adjuncts are only part of the Theme when they occur before the Topical Theme in a clause. In the following clause for example, "certainly" is still a Mood Adjunct but it is not part of the Theme because it comes after the Topical Theme:
So the question is whether speakers/writers want to give prominence to their interpersonal judgments in orienting their listeners/readers by putting Mood Adjuncts in Theme position.
Certainly the work you do in this course is of the highest significance for your teaching.
Related to Mood Adjuncts are Comment Adjuncts, which function to express an assessment about the clause as a whole. Examples of these are words like "honestly", "understandably", "luckily" etc. These can also function as Interpersonal Themes (see Eggins, 1994:168 for Comment Adjuncts).
In the following text Themes are in the left hand column and Rhemes in the right hand column. Textual Themes are underlined, Interpersonal Themes are in italics and TOPICAL THEMES are in Capitals.
Notice that all clauses have Topical Themes. Textual and Interpersonal Themes do not occur in all clauses. In some clauses, however all three types of Theme occur:
The order of occurrence of Thematic elements is always Textual ^ Interpersonal ^ Topical.
As we have indicated previously, shared reading, discussion and deconstruction of authentic texts is the most productive context for teaching all aspects of knowledge about language. Drawing attention to the pattern of Thematic choices and their relationship to the purpose of the text can well be integrated into these activities.
Joint construction of texts with the children when teaching writing should also model the use of Theme selections appropriate to the purpose of the writing.
Specific activities to consolidate children's understanding of Theme
Teachers' understanding of the concept of Theme can enhance a number of commonly used teaching/learning activities:
¥ Text reconstruction - a text is cut up into strips of card containing units of language at the group/phrase rank. Children work individually or in groups to reassemble the text. Begin with short texts of only a couple of clauses and then progress to longer, paragraph length texts. Compare results to discuss any variation in what has been selected as Theme and the effects this has on the organization of emphasis in the text. Children might then be asked to assemble another version of their texts using different patterns of Theme selection.
¥ Text editor - select a piece of text which is not well organized Thematically, such as a Report in which the Topical Theme selection is haphazard and ask the children to cut this up and reassemble it as if they were the book editor. This can be a computer-based learning task where you copy the text as a file for each child/group and ask them to use the word processor to edit the text. It is then most important to have the children share their reasons for changing the text and the effects they believe their changes made. Consider the following Report as a candidate for this kind of editorial task:
Islands are magical places. There are small and large islands, all alive with strange animals and plants. The isolated conditions on an island lead creatures to adapt in different ways. Many develop into new species. Each island has a range of terrain. Madagascar, off Africa, for example, has tropical and dry forests, desert, mountains, rivers and lakes. Two out of three species are unique to it. No continent is so rich in wildlife. even bare, windswept islands that look empty have a host of hidden inhabitants. Hut because islands are small, there are not many members of each species, and so they are more easily in danger of extinction. (from Hooper, R. 1992. Life in the islands. Melbourne. Puffin Books.)
¥ Theme cloze - take different genres and reproduce deleting the Themes. You might just delete the Topical Themes and leave any Textual or Interpersonal Themes in tact. Alternatively you could leave the Topical Themes in tact and delete the Textual Themes - or you could delete different Theme elements for different groups. Children complete the cloze task and explain how they worked out what they wrote in the spaces. One variation is to supply them with the original text when their task is finished and have them discuss the relationship between their version and the original in terms of the effects of Theme choices. It is useful to put these on OHP slides and give the group textas to write up one slide for the group. These can then be displayed for class discussion.
¥ From 'crawling' to 'demanding' - present students with a scenario, such as having to explain to why some homework wasn't done or asking the principal to approve some student activity, and then ask them to work in small groups to rehearse what they might say to achieve their purpose. Some groups are assigned the role of 'crawlers', some are 'demanders' and some are 'balanced asserters'. Give the groups cards listing a wide range of Mood and Comment Adjuncts. The task of the group is to generate the language using these cards as Interpersonal Themes. Record the results on cassette tape ( or have the children write out their rehearsed texts). Discuss the differences that could be effected if the Mood and Comment Adjuncts were not Thematic.
Again, as in all such learning tasks it is crucial that you, as the teacher, demonstrate the completed task at least once. It also needs to be emphasized that these types of tasks are only heuristics for consolidating children's technical knowledge of how language makes meaning. The most productive use of this knowledge is in its application to critical participation in the use of oral and written texts in the school and wider community.