Motif (narrative)
A motif (/moʊˈtiːf/ moh-TEEF) is any distinctive feature or idea that recurs across a story; often, it helps develop other narrative elements such as theme or mood.[1][2]
A narrative motif can be created through the use of imagery, structural components, language, and other elements throughout literature. 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 found in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Narratives may include multiple motifs of varying types. In
In a narrative, a motif establishes a pattern of ideas that may serve different conceptual purposes in different works. Kurt Vonnegut, for example, in his non-linear narratives such as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle makes frequent use of motif to connect different moments that might seem otherwise separated by time and space.[3] In the American science fiction cult classic Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott uses motifs to not only establish a dark and shadowy film noir atmosphere,[4] but also to weave together the thematic complexities of the plot. Throughout the film, the recurring motif of "eyes" is connected to a constantly changing flow of images, and sometimes violent manipulations, in order to call into question our ability, and the narrator's own, to accurately perceive and understand reality.[5]
Narrative motifs can be ironic. For example, in
Usage
Any number of narrative elements with
In other words, a narrative motif—a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning—can produce a theme; but it can also create other narrative aspects. Nevertheless, the distinction between the two terms remains difficult to pinpoint. For instance, the term "
See also
- Motif (folkloristics)
- Motif (music)
- Motif (visual arts)
- Trope (literature)
References
- ISBN 0-7007-1241-0.
- ISBN 978-0-87910-197-8.
- ^ "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale. 2004. HighBeam Research. 26 August 2010
- ^ Carlo (2000). "Blade Runner 1982". AboutFilm.com.
- ^ Bukatman, pp. 9–11.
- ^ "WordNet 3.0". Princeton University. 2006. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
- ISBN 978-0-521-88719-9.
- S2CID 162223060
External links
- The dictionary definition of motif at Wiktionary