theme –
noun 1. the main subject of something such as a book, speech, art exhibition
or discussion:
+ of Love and honour are the main themes of the book.
a recurrent/recurring theme (= one that occurs several times):
Musical instruments are a recurrent theme in his still life paintings .
a central/main/common/underlying theme :
Good child care was the central theme of the conference .
2. theme or
theme music/song/tune a short piece of music that
is played at the beginning and end of a radio or television programme or
a film:
the theme from the film Rocky 2a. a short tune that is repeated
in a longer piece of music
3.
AmE old-fashioned a short
ESSAY
written for school
25
topic –
noun a subject that you write or speak about:
There has been little research on this particular topic.
She tried to think of another topic of conversation.
The topic for discussion today is ‘The Health of the Nation’ 26
.
Exercise 27. Why are the
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners’ definitions of
theme and
topic inconsistent for their distinction?
Exercise 28. Find and compare the definitions of
theme and
topic in other dictionaries. Are these words defined similarly or differently?
24
Hornby A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. P. 1619.
25
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. International Student
Edition. London ; Radstock, 2006. P. 1487.
26
Ibid. P. 1518.