"But, and I hope it is not literary-critical heresy to say so, we can have something very like Dante's cosmos without that astronomical system. For there are three principles regarding created things that I find fundamental to Dante's view of the world and its beauty; they are also principles that underlie the beauty of Dante's poem and that, for our purposes in the Inferno, will help us see the justice that inspired his zeal. They are these: Things have an end. Things have meaning. Things are connected."
— Anthony Esolen on The Divine Comedy
"All stories have a message to them whether you realize it or not, even if they're overly simplistic, just general themes conveyed by character arcs or lessons learned like [picture of Barney & Friends] 'Love one another', [picture of Kingdom Come] 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions', [picture of Marville] 'You just wasted your money', et cetera."
— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall
"There are two kinds of stories we tell our children. The first kind; 'Once Upon a Time there was a fuzzy little rabbit named Frizzytop, who went on a quantum fun adventure, only to face a big setback, which he overcame through perseverance and by being adorable.' This kind of story teaches empathy. Put yourself in Frizzytop's shoes, in other words. The other kind; 'Oliver Anthony Bird, if you get too close to that ocean, you'll be sucked into the sea and drowned.' This kind of story teaches them fear, and for the rest of their lives, these two stories compete. Empathy and fear. And so I bring you tonight's play, the work in five acts about a fuzzy little bunny who got too close to the ocean, and what happened next. Let us begin."
— Oliver Bird, Legion (2017)
Klaus: The central theme of Anna Karenina is that a rural life of moral simplicity, despite its monotony, is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passion, which only leads to tragedy.
Scout: That is a very long theme.
Klaus: It's a very long book.
Scout: That is a very long theme.
Klaus: It's a very long book.
— A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope
