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Theme vs Archetype - What's the difference?

theme | archetype |

As nouns the difference between theme and archetype

is that theme is theme, topic while archetype is archetype.

As an adjective archetype is

archetypal.

theme

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A subject of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
  • A recurring idea; a motif.
  • (music) The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
  • (film, television) A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.
  • (computing, figuratively) The collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc., that "skin" an environment towards a particular motif.
  • (grammar) The stem of a word
  • (linguistics) thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb
  • (linguistics) Theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory.
  • (linguistics) Topic, what is generally being talked about, as opposed to rheme
  • A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire.

    • Related terms

    * thema * thematic * theme music * theme park * theme song * theme tune

    Verb

    (them)
  • (computing) To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).

    • archetype

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated; a prototype
  • (literature) A character, story, or object that is based on a known character, story, or object.
  • An ideal example of something; a quintessence.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012
    • , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=“New Kid On The Block” doubles as a terrific showcase for the Sea Captain who, in the grand tradition of Simpsons supporting characters, quickly goes from being a stereotype to an archetype , from being a crusty sea-captain character to the crusty sea-captain character.}}
  • (psychology) According to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, a universal pattern of thought, present in an individual's unconscious, inherited from the past collective experience of humanity.

    • Usage notes

    Traditionally archetype'' refers to the model upon which something is based, but it has also come to mean an example of a personality archetype, particularly a fictional character in a story based on a well-established personality model. In this fashion, a character ''based'' on the Jesus archetype might be referred to as a "Jesus archetype". See ''eponym for a similar usage conflict.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Verb

  • To depict as, model using or otherwise associate a subject or object with an archetype.
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