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A motif may be repeated in a pattern or design, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. [1] A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works, or may form the main subject, as the Master of Animals motif in ancient art typically does.
The flute in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman is a recurrent sound motif that conveys rural and idyllic notions. Another example from modern American literature is the green light found in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Narratives may include multiple motifs of varying types.
A rhythmic motif is the term designating a characteristic rhythmic formula, an abstraction drawn from the rhythmic values of a melody. A motif thematically associated with a person, place, or idea is called a leitmotif or idée fixe. [7] Occasionally such a motif is a musical cryptogram of the name involved.
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The use of characteristic, short, recurring motifs in orchestral music can be traced back to the early seventeenth century, such as L'Orfeo by Monteverdi.In French opera of the late eighteenth century (such as the works of Gluck, Grétry and Méhul), "reminiscence motif" can be identified, which may recur at a significant juncture in the plot to establish an association with earlier events.
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Other notable examples of the motif in Germanic art include one of the Torslunda plates, and helmets from Vendel and Valsgärde. [14] In the art of Mesopotamia the motif appears very early, usually with a "naked hero", for example at Uruk in the Uruk period (c. 4000 to 3100 BC), but was "outmoded in Mesopotamia by the seventh century BC". [15]
An example of a motif is the granny square. Motifs may be varied or rotated for contrast and variety, or to create new shapes, as with quilt blocks in quilts and quilting. Contrast with motif-less crazy quilting. Motifs can be any size, but usually all the motifs in any given work are the same size.