Definition of "motif" []

• A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. (noun)
• A dominant theme or central idea. (noun)
• Music A short rhythmic or melodic passage that is repeated or evoked in various parts of a composition. (noun)
• A repeated figure or design in architecture or decoration. See Synonyms at figure. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In Romanticism, the ruin motif is expressed and interpreted in various ways; here the literal ruin or monument, there the figurative ruin of the self, and elsewhere still the formalistic ruin of the Romantic fragment poem, with all of its unsettled meaning."
• "The nameless gunslinger motif is taken to a very grizzly place as Jonah Hex is shown as a remorseless bounty hunter with a notoriety that instills fear and anger among the folks he meets."
• "The “new woman” motif is announced in London's description of Grace's efficiency:"