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Motif is a recurring object, concept or element in literature, art, music and design that suggests a mood, theme or moral. It can be obvious or subtle and is present in a wide range of works. Literary criticism often deals with the role of motif in literature and cinema, looking for hidden motives. Examples include the orphan hero, madness in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and time in Back to the Future.
Motif in literature is an object, concept or element that deliberately reappears numerous times in a work or series of works. It is related to similar concepts, also called motif, in art, music and design. The role of motif in literature is to suggest a mood, a theme or even a moral. While some reasons may be obvious to the public, others may be more subtle or even suggested by members of the public themselves. Common motifs include the weather, often used to symbolize emotional states, and mirrors or reflections, which can suggest a split personality or inner conflict.
Motif is a French word meaning pattern or design. Like some other French literary terms, such as avant garde, it was transferred to English with the spelling and meaning mostly intact. In art and graphic design, it refers to a repeating image, such as a floral design on wallpaper. In music, it is a passage that occurs several times in the same musical composition. The motif in literature metaphorically borrows its meaning from these other artistic uses.
Motifs can be present in a wide range of works by different authors in a particular genre of literature. For example, the mentor providing a hero with the knowledge or weapons needed to complete a quest is a common motif in literature, especially adventure stories. A single work can also contain a motif that appears several times. In Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, for example, the characters are constantly taken prisoner and find ways to escape. What Twain meant by the use of this motif is a matter of critical discussion; a commentary on slavery and freedom is one possible interpretation.
Indeed, much literary criticism and academic writing deals with the role of motif in literature and cinema. Authors of dissertations and other academic papers will scrutinize novels or films in minute detail, looking for evidence of hidden motives. Sometimes these alleged motives surprise the artists themselves. Other creators, however, take great pains to incorporate motifs into their work. Director Stanley Kubrick placed mirrors in strategic locations throughout his 1980 horror classic The Shining, a subtle motif that isn’t apparent upon first viewing the film.
There are numerous other examples of the motif in literature and other narrative arts such as cinema. The orphan hero motif has appeared in popular literature throughout history, from Cinderella to Superman to Harry Potter. Madness, or the appearance of him, is a recurring motif in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Writer Harlan Ellison has many motifs that appear throughout his stories, such as sinister god-like beings and morally difficult choices. The film Back to the Future uses the motif of time, as the characters are always late or looking at clocks or calendars.
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