1. 10/9/20151 Motifs/Themes Ms. Bokpe

2. 10/9/20152 Theme  The theme of a work is the large idea or concept it is dealing with.  Stand back from the text and see what sort of general experience or subject links all its details together.  i.e. the theme of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is evil

3. 10/9/20153 Theme  What we are interested in as critics is the particular way in which the theme is handled in a particular text.  We move from the general to the distinctive.

4. 10/9/20154 Motif  A motif is much smaller  It is a type of incident or image that occurs frequently in texts.  A narrative motif can be created through the use of  imagery,  structural components  language  A motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story.  Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.  i.e. a common motif in poetry is making love

5. 10/9/20155 Blade Runner  In the American science fiction cult classic Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott uses motifs Blade RunnerRidley Scott Blade RunnerRidley Scott  to establish a dark and shadowy atmosphere,  to weave together the thematic complexities of the plot.  Throughout the film, the recurring motif of ‘eyes’ is connected to a constantly changing flow of images, and sometimes violent manipulations, in order to call into question our ability, and the narrator's own, to accurately perceive and understand reality.

6. 10/9/20156 Theme/Motif  A theme is abstract and a motif is concrete.  A motif is not necessarily a theme.  The latter is usually defined as a message, statement, or idea,  while a motif is simply a detail repeated for larger symbolic meaning.  a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning - can produce a theme;  but it can also create other narrative aspects distinct from theme.