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A motif is an uncommon element that recurs within a work or within a group of works. The criterion of uncommonness is essential to the definition. So, for example, the appearance in a story of a cup is not a motif, but the appearance of a cup that can never be filled or emptied is. The following are a few examples of motifs from myths and folktales around the world:
The loathsome bride or groom Transformation of people into animals The grateful dead The soul in the form of a butterfly The icubus The changeling The foolish bargain Race won by deception The disguised god, hero, or noble Natural disaster as punishment for a people's transgressions The dying and resurrected god The cruel sister
The following are some examples of some motifs in the fiction of Kurt Vonnegut:
the granfalloon (an arbitrary but essentially meaningless association of human beings, such as Hoosiers, people born on Tuesday, people with the name Sarah, members of the fraternal order of whatever, etc.)
the random, absurd, but cataclysmic event (such as the bombing of Dresden or the destruction of the universe in an accident resulting from the testing by Trafalmadorians of a new rocket fuel)
the thwarting of human expectations that the universe will be purposeful and proceed according to design
Motifs are often used to classify literary works and works from the oral tradition, notably in the work of folklorists Antii Arne and Stith Thompson, which is currently undergoing revision by Hans-Jörg Uther. Stith Thompson was the author of the massive, definitive work in the field of typing by motif, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932-37).
See also
References
Template:The Aarne, Thompson, Uther classification system: http://oaks.nvg.org/folktale-types.html
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