Question

What is motif in literature?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Motif is an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work.

Motif and theme are linked in a literary work but there is a difference between them. In a literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea or a symbol that develops or explains a theme while a theme is a central idea or message.

for example

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we find a recurring motif of incest accompanied by incestuous desires of some characters. Laertes speaks to his sister Ophelia in a way that is sexually explicit. Hamlet shows obsession for Gertrude’s sexual life with Claudius has an underlying tone of an incestuous desire. Besides, there is a motif of hatred for women that Hamlet experiences in his relationship with Gertrude and Ophelia. Hamlet expresses his disgust for women in Scene 2 of Act I:

“Frailty, thy name is woman” @alexmp96

Answer 3

A motif is a recurring symbol which takes on a figurative meaning. We see them in books, films, and poems. In fact, almost every text commonly uses the literary device of the motif. A motif can be almost anything: an idea, an object, a concept, a character archetype, the weather, a color, or even a statement.