A light motif

Motifs are everywhere. Wherever you have patterns and recurrence, a motif may be lurking just under the surface. They populate every type of art, whether visual or aural, written or textile. They're that moment of recognition (oh, I know this!), and a connection to a larger concept. A motif can be used to develop a theme or a character, set a mood, play into a genre, or provide foreshadowing. You have undoubtedly experienced motifs, and as a standard part of the writing toolbox you've likely used them as well. But how do they work, and why are they so effective?

A motif is a simple thing in theory: a repeated feature that ties in with a larger element of the work, often a character, setting, or theme. It is closely tied in with symbolism, and can use any of the elements we've already explored in a previous post about symbolism more generally. What makes motif distinct is the repetition of the feature, which strengthens the symbolic connection and makes it more noticeable. A single appearance of a motif feature may or may not be picked up on, but if it keeps coming back it must be important, and so readers and audiences start to pay more attention to it.

We find a lot of motifs in films, particularly as leitmotifs in the soundtrack (consider the iconic Imperial March from Star Wars) and as repeated visuals (such as the red coat in Schindler's List). In books, a motif can be as obvious as Hester Prynne's titular scarlet letter—an A for adulteress, if you haven't read the novel—or the use of mirrors in The Picture of Dorian Gray to highlight Dorian's self-centredness. They may also be more subtle, such as the despairing mood of The Grapes of Wrath or the seasonal structure of The Secret Garden.

As the motif recurs throughout the piece, it might change with our understanding of the theme etc. that it represents. For example, in Macbeth, bloodshed is initially linked to the idea of ambition and climbing the social hierarchy; Macbeth is raised to be Thane of Cawdor as a result of his success on the battlefield, and he becomes king by murdering his predecessor. Once he's reached this pinnacle, however, ambition becomes less about getting power and more about keeping it, and the scope of the killing changes. Rather than focusing on "necessary" deaths, Macbeth becomes paranoid about potential threats to his power and eliminates them without pause—even children. He and his wife had treated the old king's blood as a tool to raise themselves up, but as the deaths pile up in the latter part of the play the sight of blood becomes increasingly horrifying to them, to the point of filling their dreams and ghostly hallucinations.

Motifs can connect to more than one idea or element (the blood of Macbeth could just as easily represent guilt), or they can work in tandem with each other to point to the same one (handwashing is also used in the play to signify guilt). They're a very flexible technique, and that makes them very useful indeed!

Once you start looking for motifs, you'll see them all over the place, including your own work. What are the motifs that you've seen in a book or film that really resonated with you? Are there any you've created that you're really proud of? Tell me about it in the comments below; I'd love to hear about your favourites!

Personally, I'm a pretty big fan of the way Shakespeare used motif in his plays to communicate with his audience. I've talked about Macbeth above, but the same richness of representation is repeated throughout all of his works, from the pervasion of death in Hamlet to the constant subverting of gender norms in As You Like It.

Seriously, they're everywhere. Have fun with them!