What is the difference between Motif and Theme?

What is the difference between Motif and Theme?

Motifs/topics are reoccurring thematic elements that can be seen throughout a piece of literature. Examples of motifs or topics are:

  1. love
  2. death
  3. redemption
  4. the dangers of revenge
  5. greed
  6. struggles of poverty

Motifs or topics cannot be themes by themselves. It is not correct to say that the theme of a novel is love and courtship. Being built from the motifs/topics seen in the novel, a theme statement would look something like this:

"The novel reflects the theme that courtship free from unchecked passion can better enable individuals to discover authentic love."

In the example above, you can see how the theme presents a universal message or insight about life, building off of the motifs.

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