motif

Motif is a recurring element that has a particular significance in a work or across a body of work. It can be a visual image, a sound, a phrase, a color, or a pattern of events. In literary analysis, motifs reinforce themes and help unify a narrative, while a symbol embodies a specific idea or quality. The term is used in multiple fields, including literature, music, visual arts, and biology, though its precise meaning differs by discipline.

From French motif and Latin motus "movement," the term entered English in the early modern period and broadened to describe recurring patterns beyond movement.

Within literature and film, motifs are recurrent images, phrases, or situations that recur across scenes or chapters and help structure meaning. They may foreshadow events, echo characters' concerns, or underscore themes. A well-known example is the recurring green light in The Great Gatsby, used as a motif to signal longing, possibility, and the American dream.

A motif in music is a short musical idea—a brief sequence of notes or rhythm—that recurs and is developed throughout a composition. It provides coherence and a basis for variation. The four-note motif in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is a canonical example, its distinctive rhythm appearing in multiple movements and transformations.

In biology, a motif denotes a conserved sequence or structural pattern that appears in different proteins or nucleic acids and has a specific function. Protein motifs, such as the zinc finger or the helix-turn-helix, help determine folding or interactions. DNA motifs include transcription factor binding motifs, short recurring patterns that regulate gene expression across species.