How Does Motif | Learn the Difference Between Motif and Theme Work?

A motif is like a repeated song in a story, and a theme is what that song is about, it’s the big idea behind all those repeats.

Imagine you're building a tower with blocks. Every time you stack a red block on top of another red block, that’s your motif, the pattern you’re using to build. But if you say, "I'm making a tall, strong tower," that's your theme, it's what all those red blocks are helping you achieve.

• A motif is something that happens over and over in the story, like a character saying the same line every time they're upset, or a symbol appearing again and again.
• A theme is more like the reason behind those repeats, it’s the message or feeling you get from seeing that motif so many times.

So if you're reading a book where a clock always ticks when something bad happens, that ticking clock is your motif, and maybe the theme is "time is running out."

It's like having a favorite song that plays every time you feel happy, that’s your motif, and the idea that happiness makes you want to sing is your theme.