In literature, the subject is the main topic that serves as the basis of a story, poem, song, paper, essay or any piece of writing. Examples of subjects are war, love, hate, marriage, censorship, and identity. It is often confused with the theme, but they are not the same. The theme is a message or moral lesson that a piece of writing conveys about a topic. For example, the subject of a story may be “freedom” and the theme may be “all good things are wild and free.”