Motifs in Literature, and a Poem: The Hell Hound at the Tree of Life

Photo by Mitsuko Tonouchi

This week I’ve been thinking about motifs in literature: recurrent images, symbols or ideas an author employs to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Motifs are woven through the books we read, used by authors to add depth and convey meaning. They might be colours (red for passion or victimhood, for example), the elements (water for cleansing, fire for destruction), weather (rainbows for hope, or the storm in The Tempest) or random objects the author repeatedly inse...