The use of motif in dramatik texts

ABSTRACTConducting a study on the function and value of motif and the conditions in which it occurs in a dramatic text necessitates, first of all, a clear understanding of what an artistic motif is in its most general sense. Only then is it possible to define and identify special cases of motif in various disciplines such as drama, literature, folklore, music and the visual arts.That we encounter motifs in almost every art discipline indicates its unique and peculiar nature among all those other esthetic and structural elements that are exclusive to a specific discipline. Thus the functional scope of motif, which has an independent existence in a work of art, ranges from the sociological to the psychological, from the local to the universal.Motifs, as they appear in different disciplines with qualities that are specific to the discipline itself, take on esthetic and structural functions. For this reason, a general definition of motif can be seen as the first step in identifying a dramatic motif.Seen as one of the fundamental and structural elements along with theme, sub-theme, message and etc., dramatic motif becomes a necessary component in a dramatic work and its detailed study in a dramatic text gives us a greater and fuller understanding of it. It should be noted that such analytic studies has been long neglected in the discipline.Given that the main desire of a writer is to convey his ideas on certain subjects using every device available to him, dramatic motif drawing its unique and subtle power from the common past and culture of humanity is one of the devices to serve to this end.