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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Spiritual Blindness:
A notable motif that runs throughout the play is the use of “blindness” as a metaphor for spiritual weakness or ignorance. This metaphor is common in both medieval and Tudor literature, which often describes awareness of God in terms of sight, and ignorance of God as an inability to see.
In an early scene in the play, for example, Death describes a hypothetical man who “loveth riches” instead of God as being “blind” to matters regarding religion.
He that loveth riches I will strike with my dart,
His sight to blind, and from heaven to depart,
Except that alms be his good friend,
In hell for to dwell, world without end.
The man who is struck “blind” by his attachment to worldly prosperity will “dwell” in hell, a “world without end,” unless he has given “alms” or donations of food and money to the poor. At various other points in the play, this language of sight and blindness is used with regard to moral standing. When Everyman asks Goods to accompany him to the grave, for example, Goods responds by confessing that he has made Everyman “blotted and blind”:
Thy reckoning I have made blotted and blind,
That thine account thou cannot make truly;
And that hast thou for the love of me.
Instead of helping Everyman, Goods admits that Everyman’s “love” for riches and possessions has left him “blind,” making it more difficult for him to find the path to heaven.
Related Themes:
