How does motif relate to theme

Story : After a girl and her dog are swept into the magical land of Oz, she must go on a journey to find her way home. Motifs : The Yellow Brick Road the journey of life , Oz misleading appearances and the corruption of power. Story : Tormented by grief, a young man hunts for the truth to avenge his dead father. Motifs : Ears the unreliability of truth , birth and death ephemerality of existence. Story : Two men find themselves falling in love with the same woman in the middle of the French Revolution.

Motifs : Doubles nature of duality , digging uncovering the hidden. Story : After a plane crashes, a band of boys must survive on a deserted island. Motifs : Fire connection to technology and civilization , religious allegory moral truth. To see how this works for yourself, check out 21 of the best short story collections in the literary canon. As you can tell, most books have more than one motif. Authors spend a lot of time perfecting their central messages and want to make sure that you know exactly what they are, which is why they turn to multiple motifs.

Not too difficult, right? Of course, now that you know what a motif is, you might be wondering how to write motifs into your story — which brings us to the next section.

You might say, this is all easier said than done! But while it's not exactly a piece of cake, it's far from impossible to write motifs in literature. Here are four ways to help you apply them in your novel or short story. Planning your motifs is as simple as planning your themes — and then taking it one step further. Ask yourself: What do you want readers to associate with them? How can you represent them through symbols?

If one of your themes has to do with death, for instance, think about all the ways that you can sear it into your readers' minds by, say, having one of your characters encounter a dead animal and feel great sorrow for it. The next step is to incorporate it into your book.

Even after you know what your motifs are going to be, you need figure out how to make them recur. If you create a detailed outline before writing your first draft, you can probably spot the key events in your novel that are relevant to your theme.

For instance, one of the most famous motifs in all of literature is the mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird — it's so important that it's right there in the title of the book. But because it was woven into the narrative at the right moments, it becomes a powerful representation of innocence and goodness.

Likewise, your goal should be to tie your motif into your story in a natural yet compelling manner, at the right moments, not every possible moment. Avoid heavy-handed symbolism at all costs — your readers are smarter than that! Sometimes you just need to write a draft and trust that your writerly brain will supply the right substance. Many motifs in literature are born organically this way: the writer realizes that they need to represent a major theme, and their subconscious finds a way to deliver it.

In this case, it might be because playing the flute helps your character forget their pain and focus on joy, or because it reminds them of the person they've lost. Once you determine the purpose, the motif will serve the bigger picture, and you can see it through to the end of your draft in a satisfying way.

If you need help developing your characters to that point, here are some character development exercises and a free character profile template for your personal use. This is the practice of writing down all of your thoughts without stopping for a certain period of time — usually between minutes.

The main difference between theme and motif is that theme is abstract whereas motif is concrete. Theme is the central concept or the underlying message that is conveyed through a piece of writing.

A book can have more than one theme; the central theme, which can be found as a recurring idea throughout the story , and minor themes. The theme is not often directly expressed in a text; it is only implied. The readers have to read the text thoroughly and comprehend it.

In literary theory, the theme is divided into two subsections: thematic concept and thematic statement. The thematic concept refers to the theme understood by the readers whereas the thematic statement refers to the theme intended the writers. These two categories imply that the comprehension of a theme differs according to different readers. Themes are universal; they can be taken out of a book and can be applied to other books. This is why we can see the same theme in different books. Who , we see a fracture in walls, windows, the air and time itself as a reminder that messing around with primal forces has consequences, and those consequences are coming.

It's a Wonderful Life has examples of both. Its theme is "one good man can make a huge difference in the world" and its recurring motifs include flower petals, the record player, and immersion in water as turning points for the protagonist. What's the difference between a theme and motif?

Bob K. May 1, A theme is a big-picture idea, and a motif is a recurring symbol. Explanation: Most stories can be reduced to a single theme, an overarching idea, that every element of the story will support and bear out.