What is the difference between theme and topic?

Answer 1

A topic is general and a theme is more specific. For example a topic could be BROOMS.

A theme would be "Symbolic uses of brooms"

Or

A theme is a message about the topic. For example, the topic is "brooms."

A theme would be "brooms are not as cool as mops."

Answer 2

A theme is general and a topic more specific. But also the contexts of appropriate use are different. For instance, one might say that indecision is a theme of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" - but you can't properly talk about a topic of "Hamlet".

That said, one can use the two terms interchangeably in many contexts: for instance: "the theme/topic of today's lecture is the effects of human activity on climate". But in a different perspective one could say "the theme of the series of lectures is climate, and today's topic is how human activity does or does not affect it". Here, the two words cannot properly swap positions.

Answer 3

The topic is what the story or writing is ABOUT, like a story could be about a summer of playing Baseball on a community youth league. The topic of the story would be baseball.

The theme is the underlying message that is behind the topic, like if two friends playing on opposing teams learn that their friendship is worth more than a trophy, the theme behind that baseball story would be "cherish your friends because frienship is one of life's most valuable experiences."

Answer 4

A theme is a broader, underlying message or idea that a work explores, often abstract or universal, while a topic refers to the specific subject or issue that is being discussed or written about. In other words, a theme is the central idea or insight, whereas a topic is the subject matter or focus.