... Literature Theme is the overall message or idea that the writer wants to convey. Like a main idea, the theme is different from the subject in that the theme says something about the subject. For example, ... is the topic of the poem. But that is not the theme of the poem. Main ideas and themes must express an attitude or an idea; they need to say something about their subject. Topic/Subject: what the ... subject. For example, take another look at the poem you read in the pretest, The Eagle”: The Eagle He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure...