Traditional Themes and Motifs in Literature
by Tina Blue
February 5, 2001
One approach that I use when teaching poetry to college students is to introduce them to
traditional themes and motifs.
Poets, if they are serious enough about their art to have made a study of poetry, are thoroughly
familiar with common themes and with the images typically used to represent those themes. That
doesn't mean that they just trot out the same tired metaphors and symbols to do the same old jobs.
No, a genuine poet will heed Ezra Pound's dictum to "make it new."
And yet even while making it new, a poet will of necessity be working with the "stuff" of his
tradition, as well as with the "stuff" of life itself.
Certain motifs are universal because they represent patterns common to all human experience.
For example, the seasonal and diurnal (daily) cycles are used in all times and all places to represent
the general cycle of life and the progress of the individual human life. Is there a human being beyond
a certain age who does not know that springtime and morning are associated with youth, while winter
and nightfall are associated with age and death? And what culture does not distinguish between the
positive value of light and warmth and the negative implications of dark and cold?
Other motifs belong to specific traditions. The imagery associated with the crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus belongs to the art and literature of the Western world, and after 2000 years of
rich iconographic tradition that imagery transmits complex layers of meaning and association to those
who are familiar with it, even those who are not Christians.
The concept of a lost ideal, a state of perfection no longer available to mere mortals--e.g., a
Garden of Eden or a Golden Age--is probably universal, but the specific meanings associated with
that idea vary among cultures, as do the images connected to that paradise or its loss.
For example, the image of the apple associated with the Garden of Eden myth carries such
potent connotations that when Snow White is offered a poison apple by her wicked stepmother, we
recognize the apple as a symbol of deadly seduction, of innocence betrayed.
Thus the story of Snow White resonates with that of Eve, and its implications are extended to
include the idea that by accepting the proffered apple, Snow White will have to leave behind her
youthful innocence and move into another stage of existence.
Her transformation from child to woman is achieved through a symbolic "passage." She "dies" to
her old self and, like a caterpillar, is cocooned within her glass coffin, to be awakened at last by the
call of perfect love.
Similarly, when Adam and Eve are evicted from Eden, they leave behind their innocent,
inexperienced selves to wander through the harsh mortal world. Their pure souls and those of their
descendants are "cocooned" in imperfect flesh, a sort of "death," until they are awakened at the End
of Time by the call of perfect (divine) love.
But traditions are never "pure." There is so much cross-fertilization going on all the time that it's
often difficult to tell whether cognate myths are the result of contact between cultures, or the
consequence of separate developments from a single source. Thus, like many other mythic patterns,
the theme of the murdered and resurrected god whose death renews life for a world gone moribund is
found in many different traditions.
Besides the Christian version, there is the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris, as well as the Greek
myth of Dionysus and the related Greek myth of Orpheus. Other versions of this theme occur in other
cultures. In fact, it is probably universal among agricultural societies because of the significance of
the harvest as a consequence of the "burial" of seeds in the ground, and because it is so evident that
life springs from decay and death, since decaying matter is used to enrich and fertilize the soil.
The use of sacrifice--human or animal--to sanctify the land so that it will bear fruit is the model
for this mythic motif, and thus the image carries with it powerful associations of life renewed, of the
revivification of a moribund world through the sacrifice of the god.
In our society many, perhaps most, children grow up experiencing only limited contact with the
traditional images and motifs that have enriched our artistic and literary culture. Even worse, much of
what they do encounter is cheapened and oversimplified by translation into the language of pop
culture. Consequently, when they encounter literature that is rich with such resonances, they have no
clue what to make of it.
When I get them in an "Introduction to Literature," an "Introduction to Fiction," or an
"Introduction to Poetry" class, they don't even know where to begin with literature that is not shallow
and simplistic. Everything must be reduced to Hallmark card sentiments or to cliched story lines. Even
if a poem or story doesn't fit into the simple box they try to pack it into, they will interpret it, at least
initially, as if it does.
One way that I introduce them to the resonant motifs of tradition is by showing them how those
motifs are manifested, though usually in attenuated form, in pop culture. Then I can lead them toward
understanding those motifs as they appear in literature.
Take, for example, the Trickster figure in myth, art, and literature. Such figures as Satan (in the
Judaeo-Christian tradition), Coyote (in the Native American tradition), Spider (in African folklore),
Monkey (in Chinese myths), Loki (among the Norse gods), and Hermes (in Greek mythology) are all
manifestations of the Trickster.
I won't get into anything too deep here (though I won't promise not to in future articles), but I
want you to consider Bugs Bunny. He is one of the best modern manifestations of the Trickster
archetype, and the implications of his behavior are not significantly different from those of the
traditional Trickster. He represents both the risks and the rewards of the unbridled id and of the
chaotic power that underlies existence.
Chaos is, well, chaotic. It is destructive. Yet it also represents power, creative energy, and the
life-force itself. An ordered world cannot tolerate the uncontrolled operation of such an
incomprehensible power, and yet a too-ordered world, one that too successfully represses this force,
becomes sterile and meaningless.
Bugs Bunny is funny and clever, and his main goal in life seems to be to disrupt the
conventional order. But look at his tools: he throws bombs! Sure, these are cartoon bombs, so
nobody really gets hurt, but the shadow of real danger can be vaguely discerned behind the
technicolor brilliance of this cartoon Trickster.
A less complex version of the Trickster is Woody Woodpecker. He is a less inspired
manifestation of the Trickster, because he does not carry the depths and complexities of the Bugs
Bunny character. His is essentially a one-note performance, whereas Bugs Bunny, both in character
and in behavior, conveys a virtual symphony of implication.
So what, you may wonder, does Bugs Bunny have to do with the study of poetry? Well, one
traditional role of the poet is as Trickster, an antic figure that renews a sterile world by releasing into it
the potentially dangerous and destructive power of another state of being.
In his role as Trickster the poet does not comfort us. Quite the contrary: he shakes things up. He
disrupts conventional patterns of meaning and threatens the established order.
He throws bombs.
http://tinablue.homestead.com/motifs.html
What Is a Motif in English Literature?
Amanda Stovall has been teaching English and writing since 2006. Currently, she is a grant writer for a
national nonprofit organization serving disadvantaged youth. She has published for the National Council of
Teachers of English, a collection of magazines and literary journals. Stovall holds a Bachelor of Arts in English
and a Master of Arts in education from the University of Arkansas. By Amanda Stovall, eHow Contributor
updated May 05, 2011
Money is a common motif in literature. For example, the money motif appears in "A Raisin in the Sun," a play
by Lorraine Hansberry.
A motif in English literature is a recurrent image, idea or theme. An author may use an object, a color or an emotion
as a motif to enhance the story she is trying to tell. While people often may consider motifs relics of antiquated
writing, they are prevalent in books, as well as plays and poems. If something recurs in a story, you can argue that it
is a motif.
1. Images
o
A motif may appear in literature as an image. This can include such images as animals, money, plants and
sunlight--writers can choose from a range of possibilities. For instance, William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"
features a conch shell as a central image. A band of boys find the conch shell after their plane crashes on
an island. The boys use the shell to designate who is allowed to speak. This creates a sense of order among
the juveniles, and the conch shell comes to represent communication. During the story, the conch shell is
destroyed--communication literally breaks down between the boys. In this sense, communication also is a
motif, with different objects symbolizing the concept throughout the book.
2. Archetypes
o
In literature, there are a range of motifs known as archetypes, meaning they have been present in stories
since the first manuscripts were found and translated. Archetypal figures include heroes, damsels in
distress, evil sorcerers and faithful sidekicks. Modern comic books and such epic tales as "Beowulf" and
Virgil's "Aeneid" often feature archetypes. Families are a motif throughout the Bible, and are just one
example of archetypes being used as motifs.
3. Abstract Ideas
o
A motif is not always tangible. It also can include such abstracts as emotions and ideas. For instance, a
power struggle is an abstract motif. "Tuck Everlasting," a children's book written by Natalie Babbitt, includes
such abstract motifs as eternity and time. "Speak," a young adult novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson,
features secrets and innocence, all woven into the story to enhance a reader's understanding of the
characters and the story itself.
4. Symbols
o
As mentioned in the "Lord of the Flies" example, a motif can serve as a symbol. In literature, a symbol
represents a deeper meaning. When symbols are recurrent, you can count them as a motif. Anderson uses
trees as a symbol in "Speak." In the story, the trees represent the growth of Melinda, the main character,
after she is raped at a party. She spends the year drawing trees in art class. The way Melinda draws the
trees changes as she deals with the assault. She even has a tree outside her window. After a lightening
storm, the dead limbs have to be cut off so the tree can continue to thrive, and this represents Melinda
herself after her devastating experience. Because trees recur so often, they are a motif.
5. Themes
o
A theme is another literary term, often defined as the main idea of a work of literature, film or art. The main
idea can be viewed as a story's moral, in that a theme may be "greed leads to destruction," or "in order to
grow up, a person must leave the comforts of home." The latter example commonly is called a journey
theme, where the journey itself becomes the story's motif. L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is
an example of the journey theme. Dorothy, the main character, must travel far from home to learn about
herself as a person, and about the importance of family. Each character she meets joins her journey in
search of something they feel is missing from their lives, and the journey becomes a prominent motif in the
story.
Read more: What Is a Motif in English Literature? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6136198_motifenglish-literature_.html#ixzz1XqofVB3m
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFIvr4Q-u2c&feature=colike