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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Key Examples in Love's Labor's Lost
Act 4, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Sight and Eyes:
Shakespeare heavily leans on the motifs of eyes and sight to explore the themes of love and knowledge throughout Love’s Labor’s Lost. When Boyet suspects Ferdinand has fallen in love with the princess, he says that all of Ferdinand’s senses were “in his eye” when he saw her.
Likewise, Berowne says that the eyes of the French women have “infected” him and the other men with love. Berowne also references eyes when discussing study, saying that too much reading “blinds the eyesight” of the student and leaves him less learned than before. The motif of eyes and vision helps Shakespeare offer love and emotional attachment as an alternate, powerful form of knowledge, equal to book learning.
One important mention of eyes comes during Berowne’s speech in defense of love in Act 4, Scene 3:
But love, first learnèd in a lady’s eyes,
Lives not alone immurrèd in the brain,
But with the motion of all elements
Courses as swift as thought in every power,
And gives to every power a double power,
Above their functions and their offices.
It adds a precious seeing to the eye.
A lover’s eyes will gaze an eagle blind.
Related Themes:
Act 5, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Oaths and Promises:
A number of promises are made and broken throughout Love’s Labor’s Lost. There is the initial vow made by Ferdinand and his courtiers to abstain from women for three years; the men make individual vows to wait for each of their fiancées for a year at the play’s end. Armado promises his fidelity to Jacquenetta, and each of the noblemen in disguise promise their love to the wrong women. Oaths and promises are a motif that Shakespeare uses to explore the ambiguity of language throughout the play.
Related Themes:
