Motif (narrative)

Common card · No. 279635

A motif ( moh-TEEF), or sometimes a trope, is any distinctive feature, element, or idea that recurs throughout a story; often, it helps develop larger narrative elements such as the story's themes or mood. A narrative motif can be created through the use of imagery, structural components, language, and other elements throughout literature. Symbolism is often expressed through motifs. For instance, the flute in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman is a recurrent sound motif that conveys rural and idyllic notions. Another example from modern American literature is the green light that a character often sees, representing distance and longing, found in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Narratives may include multiple motifs of varying types. Shakespeare's play Macbeth uses a variety of narrative elements to create many different motifs. Imagistic references to blood and water are continually repeated. The phrase "fair is foul, and foul is fair" is echoed at many points...

Read on Wikipedia