In class we talked about the difference between a poem's subject and its theme. Give me an example of a work of art--poem, story, film, song--where the subject is quite different from the theme. For example, I am posting a photo by photographer, Rob Hann. The subject of the photo is simple: football uniforms. But the theme is more complicated. By looking at the photo you get a sense of loneliness or absence, you see the outline of young boys' bodies without the boys there. Perhaps the theme of the photo is adolescence or manhood, how the uniform makes the boy into a man.
You may include a link to the work of art if you have one.
In the poem White Rose by Walter Poe, the subject of the poem is the rose, and the description of the rose. The poem describes how the rose stands alone midst destruction and doom. The author writes how he longs to help this rose, this brave rose that stands strong. I think that the theme here is hope. Around the rose, there is so much pain and doom, but the rose still stands strong. This gives hope to people that even our darkest moments when it seems that there is nothing left but doom, we can still have hope that things will get better, and that hope can pull us through.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.netpoets.com/poems/friends/1579001.htm
In this photograph (linked), the subject is simple. It is just a weed growing through rubble, but the theme is that life can penetrate through the toughest of times. It is about facing the dark and coming out on top because it shows that anything can be beaten.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.regis.edu/content/sl/images/hope.jpg
I love both of the examples that Trevin and Noopour used! The photograph that I found was one of the Pulitzer Prize winners in 1994. I hate to say that the subject of this picture it simple, but it is. The subject is death and starvation. But the theme, is so very complicated. This picture represents the Sudan famine and all of the death that surrounds Sudan. I thought this was a good picture because it shows all of the emotion that a simple picture can have. Looking at this picture you get so many emotions, which is why I think the theme is so complicated.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huaren.com/UnitedNations/photo-1.htm
What I found is a simple saying, "When a pebble strikes a pond, the ripples touch the farthest stars". I've heard this before, like in that one song, Make a Wave, thats like "Just a pebble in the water can set the sea in motion... A simple act of kindness can stir the widest ocean". These are pretty much saying that little acts can make a big difference and you should never feel your too small or not enough to make an influence in the world. Even though the subject is just a pebble, there's a big message.
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ReplyDeleteI found a picture that I think is a great example. The subject of the photo is a football field and its many lines and yardages. However, the theme of the picture is much different. The picture's theme is hard work. It symbolizes that every time somebody steps onto the football field, they will work very hard and strive to be the best they can be. Also, the picture's theme is hard work because all of the line on the field represent another sprint or another burst of energy that the player exerts.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to the photo: http://www.gjcity.org/citydeptwebpages/ParksRecreation/SportFacilities/LinkedFiles/Images/NewFootball.jpg
There are many poems and other works of art that have very different subjects and themes. For example, there is this poem by Robert Frost called “Fireflies in the Garden”. Its subject discusses fireflies that try to illuminate the night. However, they realize that they can not fill the whole night sky and that the stars are the only ones that can really succeed at that job. However, the theme of the poem is to stick to your role in life. If you try to do something that isn’t your role, you will not succeed. The subject and the theme are two different things.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.internal.org/Robert_Frost/Fireflies_in_the_Garden
I found a photo that I personally think very well shows the difference between the subject and the theme. The photograph I found is called "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange. It's subject is distraught mother of at least two children. The theme of this photo is a mother who has been through so much suffering, pain and experienced so much labor. She is obviously drained of energy and enthusiasm. Just by seeing this photograph this woman has been through so much and is completely worn out. I'm surehere is so much more to her life than what it seems. I can only imagine the things she has experienced that I am sure, scarred her for life. I think a possibility for the theme is there is always more to something than you would expect from appearance.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/lange/aa_lange_power_2_e.html
I found a photo that has a very different subject from its theme. It's subject is very simple, just an adult holding a baby's hand, but its theme is way more complex. The theme could be help a child that is hungry or less fortunate than yourself. Also this photo could symbolize child abuse, and the need for it to be stopped.
ReplyDeletehttp://fc08.deviantart.net/fs42/f/2009/126/c/6/Holding_hands_by_IandIphoto.jpg
An example of this sort of theme/meaning poetry, or art, can be a picture of beautiful flowers, but when you step back a bit, the flowers make out a skull or something. This is an example of the meaning being different than the theme, because the theme is colorful, thriving, fun, and beautiful, while the meaning is something dangerous, or foreboding, in the near future, because of the imagery of the skull. I have seen this photo in a book, but I cannot find it anywhere on the internet.
ReplyDeleteThe example I have for subject vs. theme is the logo or symbol for the Above The Influence organization. The pictures subject is just a simple arrow going up. The theme is don't do drugs and if you had never seen the commercial before you probably wouldn't think that this meant Above the Influence.
ReplyDeletehttp://media.photobucket.com/image/above+the+influence+/antcguy1234/influence.gif
You could make an example of pretty much every movie out there. There's always some lesson learned or some conclusion reached. On the surface, Toy Story 3 is a movie about old replaced toys finding a new place to be happy. Deeper down, however, there is a theme that you can't go on living the same childhood life forever. Time passes.
ReplyDeleteThe son Lose yourself by Eminem does not mean to actually get lost. It means to look at everything around you, soak up the meaning of them before they go. Getting lost in what you love is what it means. The fact is that when everything that is important around you is turning or going on, you get lost in that moment, metaphorically. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab_mlKv8U5o&feature=fvst
ReplyDeleteThe picture i found has a subject very different from it's theme. The subject of this photo is a baseball on a baseball field. However, the them is much bigger than just a baseball on a baseball field, it shows sublimity to the field making the baseball field look like it could go on forever and the baseball just a small object on the field.
ReplyDeletehere is the link to my picture:
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-40701-baseball.php