Leaving aside that we’re both of the generation totally fu**ed by Alanis Morissette’s inaccurate read of “irony,” and that hyperbole is So.Everywhere. that we probably don’t need an episode on it, and directing you all to the other episodes we did on archetypes (Episode 181 The Fool, Episode 72 Feminine Archetypes, and Episode 45 Cliche Characters), this may very well be our last deep-dive literary devices episode. But who knows.

We didn’t expect motifs to go into a second week. And yet here we are.

Themes, symbols, and motifs are frequently treated together when taught, but they’re different (link):

• Themes are abstract or conceptual and live in the backdrop of a story as a main idea.
• Symbols are objects that represent something else: a white dove, a skeleton key, a snake
• Motifs are symbolic, but not objects rather, phrases or words repeated: the scent of oranges in Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris is used to indicate the triggering of a migraine by the characters’ mother. The smell of peanuts at the circus is used to taunt the little girl who wants to be part of proper society in The Greatest Showman.

Full show notes (cusswords and all ) out on the blog here.