Childishness
The study of aesthetics requires someone to move beyond an implicit appreciation of the attractive elements of the world around them, and Burke acknowledges this fact through the establishment of childishness as a theme of his work. He avoids didacticism by returning to a rudimentary phraseology that resonates with readers who want to understand what he presents at face value. The theme of childishness allows him to see his theory presented mostly on its own without seeming to insult the long history of thinkers before him who concerned themselves with the topics of how and why we feel emotions in the face of the sublime and beautiful.
Classification
Edmund Burke proceeds throughout his piece using classifications. These allow the reader to let go of the burden of tracking his concepts, and his active incorporation of these structures at the thematic level provide guidance and confirmation of the interplay between various factors. In particular, the theme of classification is permeated by the question of independence or dependence in the sensations about which he writes, as well as new connections and differences between objects and parts of life.
Humanism
Burke's enquiry ostensibly focuses on primarily the beautiful and sublime, but Burke redirects the reader's attention to the paradigm of the self with the theme of humanism. He references Homer often and places emotions within the personal realm, especially when these cause motion or lack thereof. In moments such as the section in which he studies terror, Burke evokes the sensation about which he writes; this allows the reader to maintain the childlike sense of observation and reminds us that the reason for the book is comprehension and appreciation.
Aesthetics
Although the enquiry often leads the reader to notice emotions, Burke ultimately concerns himself with the theme of aesthetics. Aesthetic theory is wide-ranging and many writers have attempted to define what they notice in the natural and sensory world; Burke develops the theme of aestheticism in a calm and deliberate manner, rarely becoming carried away with that about which he writes. He tracks various topics in the book, but aesthetics always leads him from one point to the next. The theme of aesthetics resounds throughout Burke's study.
