Dramatica Theory Book

Chapter 12: The Elements of Structure -- Theme (Continued)

Limitations of space prevent us from describing each and every Type through example. At the back of this book, however, you will find an appendix with a complete definition of each, as well as reproductions of the complete chart of categories.

Even with this degree of refinement, our story's problem has still not been identified with the precision required to truly focus our theme. It is time to move into the next level of the problem chart.

When we sub-divide the Types, we can establish four different VARIATIONS of each. This creates the extended chart below:

Now we can finally begin to see some familiar thematic topics: morality, fate, commitment, and hope, for example. We can also see a number of unfamiliar terms that we may not have considered before in regard to theme. As before, Western culture (as do all cultures) favors certain areas of exploration and virtually ignores others. For an author who wishes to explore new ground, these unfamiliar terms provide a wealth of options. For the author who writes for the mainstream, all the old standbys are there, but with much more detail than before.

One thing you will not find on this chart are terms like "love" or "greed." Although these concepts figure prominently in many discussions of theme, they are more descriptive of subject matter, rather than the perspectives one might take about that subject matter. For example, suppose we decide to write a story about love. All right, what kind of love? Brotherly love? Romantic love? Paternal, lustful, spiritual, or unrequited love? Clearly, love is in the eye of the beholder. In other words, love is shaded by the nature of the object that is loved.

In our chart of Variations, we find terms such as "Attraction", "Obligation", "Desire", or "Instinct", each of which can be used to describe a different kind of love.

Similarly, you won't find "Greed" on this chart, but you will find "Self-Interest" (near the lower left corner of the Physics Variations). "Self-Interest" is not as emotionally charged as "Greed" but it more clearly defines the issues at the center of a rich man's miserliness, a poor man's embezzlement, and also a loving parent who must leave her child to die in a fire in order to save herself. And other Variations like "Fantasy", "Need", "Rationalization", or "Denial" would each reflect a different kind of "Greed".

It is not our purpose to force new, sterile and unfamiliar terminology on the writers of the world. It is our purpose to clarify. So, we urge you to pencil in your favorite terms to the chart we have provided. Stick "love" on "Attraction", place "Greed" on "Self-Interest", if that is how the most seem to you. In this manner, you will create a chart that already reflects your personal biases, and most likely incorporates those of your culture as well. The original bias-free chart, however, is always available serve as an neutral framework for refining your story's problem.

As a means of zeroing in on the Variation that best describes the thematic nature of your story's problem, it helps to look at the Variations as pairs. Just as with characters, the Variations that are most directly opposed in nature occur as diagonals in the chart. A familiar dynamic pair of Variations is Morality and Self-Interest. The potential conflict between the two emerges when we put a "vs." between the two terms: Morality vs. Self-Interest. That makes them feel a lot more like the familiar kind of thematic conflict.

Later we shall return to describe how each dynamic pair in the chart can form the basis for a thematic premise in your story. We will also show how this kind of dynamic conflict does not have to be a good vs. bad situation, but can create a "lesser of two evils" or "better of two goods" situation as well.