motive vs motif
Definitions
noun
- a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
- a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
- the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
adjective
- causing or able to cause motion
- impelling to action
Examples
It is not just a projection of human motives on to a neutral universe.
We must remember that the prime motive for Housmann's boulevards and circuses was to ensure that a strategically placed cannon could fire down many streets, quelling the citizens who were periodically disposed to revolution.
But the motive behind her achievement was not self-interest alone, nor the desire to carry aloft the banner of feminism.
Definitions
noun
- a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
- a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
- a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
Examples
In far northern Europe, bicephalous animal motifs seem to be traceable at least as far back as the early 7th millennium B.C.
Certain batik designs, like the parangrusak motif, are still considered sacred as they were specially designed for sultans, their consorts and crown princes.
Pop music has no purer form of insufferableness than the I-love-my-child motif.
