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 [ Ссылка ]

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?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a stanza?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is stream of consciousness?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is figurative language?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is irony?': [ Ссылка ]
"What is a metaphor?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a simile?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is hyperbole?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a imagery?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a sonnet?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is metonymy?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is synecdoche?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is enjambment?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is satire?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is juxtaposition?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is foreshadowing?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is understatement?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is rhyme?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an unreliable narrator?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a genre?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a narrative arc?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a flashback?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is personification?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a narrator?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a flat character vs a round character?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is symbolism?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)": [ Ссылка ]
"What is epistrophe?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is poetic meter?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a portmanteau?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is anaphora?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an oxymoron?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a zeugma?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is free indirect discourse?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is the uncanny?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a point of view?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is deus ex machina?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a frame story?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is ekphrasis?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is blank verse?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an epistolary novel?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is allegory?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is tragedy?": [ Ссылка ]
"What are euphony and cacophony?": [ Ссылка ]
"What are assonance and consonance?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a setting in literature?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is onomatopoeia?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is theme in literature?": [ Ссылка ]...
"What is a conflict in literature?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is persona?": [ Ссылка ]
""What is a dramatic monologue?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an allusion?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is alliteration?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an epic?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is an ars poetica?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a motif?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a protagonist?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is literature?": [ Ссылка ]
"What is a foil?": [ Ссылка ]

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