Motifs in Literature

Below is a short list of common literary motifs.  This does not even remotely cover the literary motifs that are out there.  Use this list as a guide only, if you would like to use a motif on this list, by all means go ahead, but feel free to venture out on your own.

Resources

Use the following links as you research for the definition and historical use of the motif and for additional examples found in novels, artwork or movies.

Book Sources        eBooks        Databases        Websites        MLA Guide

                                      Book Sources

**When looking for early examples conduct a Power Search for your motif in WebCollection Plus or browse the stacks in the following sections.  Remember to use the Index and Table of Contents of each book.

Bible/ Religious Stories: 220s

                                Mythology: 200s & 290s

                                Folklore & Fairy Tales: 390s

The following book sources are a great place to begin your search for definitions & early examples:

Format	Title	Call Number
	101 myths of the Bible : how ancient scribes invented biblical history.	221.6 GRE
	After the apple : women in the Bible : timeless stories of love, lust, and longing.	220.9 ROS
	Archetypes and motifs in folklore and literature : a handbook	398 ARC & EB 398 ARC
	The archetypes and the collective unconscious	154.2 JUN
	Archetypes in Life, Literature and Myth	P 398.012 NIT
	Beauties and beasts	398.21 BEA
	The Bible, designed to be read as living literature : the Old and the New Testaments in the King James Version.	220.5203 BIB
	Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales	398.2 Zip
	The children's illustrated Bible	R 220.9 HAS
	The complete writer's guide to heroes & heroines : sixteen master archetypes	808.3 COW
	A dictionary of literary and thematic terms	R 803.21 QUI
	A Dictionary of Literary Symbols	EB 809.9 FER
	Dictionary of literary themes and motifs	R 809.933 DIC
	Dictionary of symbolism	R 302.23
	Encyclopedia of creation myths	R 291.2 LEE & EB 291 LEE
	Encyclopedia of folk heroes	398.03 SEA & EB 398 SEA
	Encyclopedia of folklore and literature	EB 803 ENC
	The Facts On File dictionary of classical and biblical allusions	809 FAC
	Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion	398.2 Zip
	Folklore : an encyclopedia of beliefs, customs, tales, music, and art.	398.03 FOL & EB 398 FOL
	Four archetypes : mother, rebirth, spirit, trickster	150.19 JUN
	From the Beast to the Blond:	398.2 War
	Gods and men : myths and legends from the world's religions.	291 BAI
	The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales	398.21 Tat
	The hero with a thousand faces	291.13 Cam
	Heroes	291.2 NAR
	The interpretation of fairy tales.	398 FRA
	Jewish legends.	296.19 Gol
	King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering Archetypes of the Mature Masculine	155.6 Moo
	The Macmillan illustrated encyclopedia of myths & legends.	291.1303 Cot
	Man, myth & magic; the illustrated encyclopedia of mythology, religion, and the unknown.	R 133.03 MAN
	Medieval folklore : an encyclopedia of myths, legends, tales, beliefs, and customs.	398.03 MED & EB 398 MED
	Men and women of the Bible : a reader's guide.	R 220.9 TIS
	Monsters.	398.21 NAR
	Movies and the Mind: Theories of the Great Psychoanalysts Applied to Film (archtypes, motifs and symbols	791.43 Ind
	Myths and legends	398.03 MYT
	Myths and motifs in literature	808.8 MYT
	Nectar & ambrosia : an encyclopedia of food in world mythology.	398.27 AND & EB 398 AND
	Popular tales and fictions their migrations and transformationsWhen Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition	EB 398 CLO
	The psychological meaning of redemption motifs in fairytales.	398 VON
	Off with Their Heads: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood	398.45 Tat
	Quests and journeys	291.13 NAR
	The reader's Bible, a narrative : selections from the King James Version	220.52 BIB
	Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover	155.6 Moo
	Shadow and evil in fairy tales	398.042 VON
	Shakespeare and Jungian Typology	822.3 Tuc
	The Six Archetypes of Love:  from Innocent to Magician	152.4 Hun
	The uses of enchantment : the meaning and importance of fairy tales.	398.45 BET
	When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition	398.21 Zip
	Women who run with the wolves : myths and stories of the wild woman archetype	398 EST

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eBooks

Click the icon to search the IMC's collection of eBooks from Gale Virtual Reference Library that contain information for this assignment including the Dictionary of Literary Symbols & Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature.

History Reference Online from ABC-Clio

This database include eBooks on folklore and mythology including: Popular Tales and Fictions, Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature and Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs and Customs.

Databases

Bloom's Literary Reference Online from Facts on File

Literary Reference Center from Ebsco

Literature Resources from Gale combines LitFinder, Literature Resource Center, and Gale Virtual Reference Library
Novelist from Ebsco

Oxford Art Online from Oxford University Press

Oxford Reference Online from Oxford University Press
World Folklore and Folklife from Greenwood

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Websites

Art Resource  Digital library contains over 250,000 keyword-searchable fine art images

Bible Gateway   Online Bible searchable by keyword, phrases, or scripture reference.

Bartleby.com  Electronic and searchable version of Bulfinch's Mythology- The Age of Fable

The Catholic Encyclopedia  More than 11,000 articles on Catholic topics

Encyclopedia Mythica   Internet encyclopedia of mythology, folklore, and religion.

Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts  Contains a list of electronic text organized by theme.

Heartlight's Search God's Word   SearchGodsWord is a searchable online edition of the Bible

Internet Movie Database

Mythography  looks at Greek, Roman and Celtic mythology

World Myths and Legends in Art  Created by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, this site explores world myths through 26 works of art from its collections.
 

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