Theme Extraction

Protocol

1. Read transcript once for emotional atmosphere. Note the undertow, not the topics.
2. Read again for explicit subjects. List them.
3. Subtract the explicit. What’s left is the theme.

Rules

• One sentence max for the theme.
• If the monologue contradicts itself, the theme is the contradiction.
• Emotion is not theme. “I’m angry” is not a theme. “I’m angry about drifting” is closer.
• Prefer nouns over gerunds. “Control” not “controlling”. “Agency” not “being agentic”.

Output format

themes:
  - [primary theme]
  - [secondary theme]
emotions:
  - [emotion]

Common failures

• Summarizing instead of distilling.
• Naming the topic instead of the undercurrent.
• Giving 3+ themes when 1 carries the weight.