ABSTRACT
When MINSTREL tells a story, its primary goal is to illustrate a particular story theme. MINSTREL’s story themes are stereotypical planning situations, which can often be summarized by an adage such as “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” or “Deception serves the devil.” To understand the role of story themes in MINSTREL’s storytelling process, there are five issues that must be addressed:
What is a theme?
How is a theme represented?
What themes does MINSTREL know?
What author-level thematic goals does MINSTREL have?
What plans does MINSTREL have to achieve these goals?
