What Is a Motif?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how repetition can shape meaning and stir emotion, from anaphora to refrain.

Now, we’ll dive even deeper into repetition through layers of meaning beyond just emotional meaning. So let’s talk about Motif.

A motif is a recurring element in a story, like an image, object, phrase, action, or symbol.

Motif is about what’s being repeated, where it’s being repeated, and why it matters.

Motifs aren’t just some decorative device to make your writing seem “literary,” they’re symbolic too. They do emotional and philosophical work beneath the surface…

Motifs lead to and also reinforce themes.

They can also reveal your character’s psychology

Motifs, through refrain, can create continuity and rhythm

Motifs help deter from episodic writing, making your story feel intentional as a cohesive whole.

And they do all this quietly through repetition and variation over time.

Motif in Action: The Money Ball in Squid Game.

Netflix’s Squid Game is an example of motif through the image of the glass money ball that fills with cash every time a player dies.

The ball is literal; it holds the prize money. But its repetition turns it into something more:

It’s seductive because it sucks to be poor in a capitalist world.

As deaths increase, it grows heavier, more grotesque.

It’s symbolic for the corruption, dehumanization, and cost of survival in capitalism.

This one repeated object captures the show’s theme: The worth of one human life and the price tag we put on it. It’s brilliant, really, and the author knew how to use a motif. Without it, the show would not have had the impact it has had.

Motif as Social Commentary: Angela’s Ashes

In Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes, alcohol is a recurring and devastating motif.

It’s always there: in arguments, lost jobs, and opportunities. And it’s also part of the societal fabric, the local culture that numbs the poor and keeps them from rising.

McCourt never tells us that alcohol was the real villain. He doesn’t need to. The motif does the work. We feel the destruction every time alcohol appears.

That’s what a strong motif can do. It turns a recurring element into a psychological and social force.

How to Use Motif in Your Writing

Motif doesn’t need to be obvious, but it does need to be intentional. Choose an object, phrase, or situation that you can thread into multiple parts of your story, then ask:

What does it represent? How does its meaning evolve? How does it show character, theme, or conflict?

Some common motifs and their potential meanings:

Mirrors – identity, self-deception, duality

Keys – freedom, secrets, power

Storms – emotional turmoil, cleansing, chaos

Broken clocks – time lost, memory

Money – corruption, and greed

You can also use personalized motifs, something unique to your world or character, like a Peacock to connote eternal life and resurrection. (I love peacocks!)

Motif adds depth and density. It’s not about what’s happening on the surface; it’s about what’s really happening beneath it.

Repetition, in all its forms, builds emotion.

But what about silence?

What about the breaks in speech, the sentences that trail off, the thoughts left dangling?

That’s the realm of Aposiopesis, our story device coming next week.

Aposiopesis taps into the emotional power of what’s not said. It’s hesitation, trauma, rage, wonder, fear, without explaining. It’s subtext – a must for writers.

Happy Writing!

~M.C. Convery