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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
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Water:
Water serves as a major motif throughout the play, from the stormy seas that split up Aegeon’s family to the boat Antipholus of Syracuse seeks in order to escape Ephesus. Here, Adriana unknowingly reinforces this motif, using very similar language to that of Antipholus of Syracuse, who earlier compared himself to a single drop of water searching for another drop of water in a wide ocean. She says:
For know, my love, as easy mayst thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulf,
And take unmingled thence that drop again
Without addition or diminishing,
As take from me thyself and not me too.
Adriana’s use of this water motif again relies upon the relationship of a drop of water in a larger body of water. Just as it would be impossible to take back a drop of water that has fallen into a river, so too, Adriana suggests, would it be impossible for her husband to remove himself from her life without losing some of himself, or taking some of her with him. Their lives and identities, she suggests, are irreversibly intertwined.
Shakespeare revisits this motif of a water drop disappearing into a sea or ocean throughout the play, highlighting the malleability of identity—an idea that is crucial to the entire plot. Though humans might think of themselves as distinct, this play shows that identity can be hidden, altered, stolen, and mistaken, especially in a crowded city like Ephesus.
Related Themes:
