"What is a Motif?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers
Channel: OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film
Date: 2021-10-26

What is a motif in literature? What are some examples of motifs and how can we interpret them? MA in Literature student Marisa Williams answers these questions using examples from James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."

The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify motifs in literature but also to analyze their purposes and effects. A collaborative partnership between Marisa Williams and OSU Senior Lecturer Liz Delf, the video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf

Spanish subtitles are now available for this video. To access these subtitles, click on the settings icon in the video.

Timestamps
0:00 Motif Defined
0:51 Motif Example #1: Sonny's Blues
2:18 Motif Example #2: Cask of Amontillado

Below are a few more videos in the series.  Please drop us a comment letting us know what literary terms you would like us to explore in future videos!
 
"What is a prologue?":  https://youtu.be/PEeMmskARMc​​​​​ 
 "What is a stanza?": https://youtu.be/qaXfCSCHBt0​​​​​ 
"What is stream of consciousness?":  https://youtu.be/WaSFwO3O2SI​​​​​ 
"What is figurative language?":  https://youtu.be/c2CRxHOgxBM​​​​​ 
"What is irony?':  https://youtu.be/q6e0oNVx8Uk​​​​​ 
"What is a metaphor?":  https://youtu.be/5mPSFQ1eFUU​​​​​
"What is a simile?":  https://youtu.be/YqJrZ6OoqjU​​​​​ 
"What is hyperbole?":  https://youtu.be/IzfyNwNpUmA​​​​​
"What is a imagery?":  https://youtu.be/uX413tALG7Q​​​​​
"What is a sonnet?":  https://youtu.be/QmrKmL06J9g​​​​​
"What is metonymy?":  https://youtu.be/jydjhvOzMGQ​​​​​
"What is synecdoche?":  https://youtu.be/V3G51sJcvzg​​​​​
"What is enjambment?":  https://youtu.be/yBn2ZOwv144​​​​​
"What is satire?":  https://youtu.be/io58hl1Z0TY​​​​​
"What is juxtaposition?":  https://youtu.be/4KXVPS3FYkQ​​​​​
"What is foreshadowing?":  https://youtu.be/nc-2Jg6b0Dw​​​​​
"What is understatement?":  https://youtu.be/tW3MZ6z8KNA​​​​​
"What is rhyme?":  https://youtu.be/_9oHeL2qI6g​​​​​
"What is an unreliable narrator?":  https://youtu.be/A-lDvHT2QyQ​​​​​
"What is a genre?": https://youtu.be/Go0Mto2fOXY​​​​​ 
"What is a narrative arc?": https://youtu.be/ngpHeQZtS-w​​​​​ 
"What is a flashback?":  https://youtu.be/tjTauD53Ru4​​​​​ 
"What is personification?":  https://youtu.be/5GOfjV6u0Co​​​​​
"What is a narrator?": https://youtu.be/bCNNBxlnkjQ​​​​​
"What is a flat character vs a round character?":  https://youtu.be/IPIBTgPlK5c​​​​​
"What is symbolism?":  https://youtu.be/GR9VbSXxouM​​​​​
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": https://youtu.be/SPES7Z2fjIY​​​​​
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)":  https://youtu.be/KEqQIB5ytcI​​​​​
"What is epistrophe?":  https://youtu.be/6rdlklOZs4o​​​​​ 
"What is poetic meter?":  https://youtu.be/S13Tg3RAUW4​​​​​
"What is a portmanteau?":  https://youtu.be/P5TdpQXTkB0​​​​​
"What is anaphora?": https://youtu.be/dr970RgZu8w​​​​​ 
"What is an oxymoron?":  https://youtu.be/oXMht0mi0xc​​​​​
"What is a zeugma?": https://youtu.be/qGtjLGFPmXE​​​​​
"What is free indirect discourse?": https://youtu.be/Vw5XclD9IlQ​​​​​
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?":  https://youtu.be/dBjtFyktXhQ​​​​​
"What is the uncanny?":  https://youtu.be/4IHvGHGVAM0​​​​​
"What is a point of view?":  https://youtu.be/acURl_KBiRI​​​​​
"What is deus ex machina?": https://youtu.be/GCpGV7fOp2M​​​​​
"What is a frame story?":  https://youtu.be/cjJszH88J8A​​​​​ 
"What is ekphrasis?":  https://youtu.be/ySS-IZMPjjc​​​​​ 
"What is blank verse?":  https://youtu.be/TmwuGQIgj9A​​​​​
"What is an epistolary novel?": https://youtu.be/mj40J8lFu7E​​​​​ 
"What is allegory?": https://youtu.be/4IOsFCieGQA​​​​​
"What is tragedy?":  https://youtu.be/OBvVD08_0hU​​​​​
"What are euphony and cacophony?": https://youtu.be/TzELOczXWOY​​​​​
"What are assonance and consonance?": https://youtu.be/3ZQxhOcnJzE​​
"What is a setting in literature?": https://youtu.be/omsbv-hbXiM​​
"What is onomatopoeia?": https://youtu.be/aKRKcKcSW2c​​
"What is theme in literature?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...
"What is a conflict in literature?":  https://youtu.be/XqR0Hv6mwNU​
"What is persona?": https://youtu.be/_5vKV7HNXlo
""What is a dramatic monologue?": https://youtu.be/ferWxPUN3ig
"What is an allusion?":  https://youtu.be/rF3ANKEPoko
"What is alliteration?":  https://youtu.be/uZNCkV_0u0A
"What is an epic?": https://youtu.be/YkblUzteA-4
"What is an ars poetica?":  https://youtu.be/rZdBopDIiLo
"What is a motif?":  https://youtu.be/isBKoIORntI
"What is a protagonist?":  https://youtu.be/G5nZzak4TFk
"What is literature?": https://youtu.be/qvbMNIViMq4
"What is a foil?": https://youtu.be/nqXQ4L2oC9Q