Hi there! Below you will find three Craft of Writing mini-lessons that support students in practising their writing craft all year-round. You can find a range of other Craft of Writing resources here. The mini-lesson approach involves examining a writing technique in a ten minute segment at the start of each lesson - students are shown how to use the technique, alongside contextual examples, and then asked to put it into practice.
Motif
What is it: An image, sound, action, idea, phrase, word or anything else that repeatedly occurs throughout a text. This is used as a form of symbolism suggestive of a theme or message that the author wants to convey. (See also: symbolism, generic conventions)
Examples:
- The appearance of straight lines and harsh geometric shapes whenever the rabbit characters are seen in the picture book The Rabbits, which is suggestive of their association with artificial human-made structures. (The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan)
- The repeated references to performance and terms associated with it in Prospero's speeches. (The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
- Felix's recurring use of metaphorical language associated with magic. (Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood)
- Reinforces the thematic core of a text and helps a writer convey their thesis.
- Creates another level of communication in the text that can allow some readers to pick up on ideas that they might normally not pick up on.
- Contributes to a sense of mood or atmosphere in the text. Can reinforce setting with motifs associated with specific generic conventions.
- INTERTEXTUALITY: Hag-Seed features a production of The Tempest as a way to provide parallels between the original play and its own retelling of the play. (Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood)
- TEXTUAL ALLUSION: 8Handz plays the song Ride the Lightning by Metallica while Sal and Tony are locked into a cell. (Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood)
- "A fever of panic against an unseen evil, as though Perth were Gotham City itself" - Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.
- Adds layers of meaning to a work of fiction - the use of a familiar reference can change the reader's perspective of either the new text or the older one, or both.
- Can clarify meaning when discussing complicated ideas - provides a frame of reference for the reader to identify.
- "The smell of misery, lying over everyone within like an enchantment" - Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
- "The words cut the air like a dagger" - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- "Taste the rainbow" - Skittles advertisement
- Demonstrates creativity when communicating ideas and adds layers of meaning to a text.
- Can reinforce a motif through describing a variety of things using vocabulary related to one particular sense.
- Some authors can use it to create humour by surprising and deliberately confusing the reader.
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