Temptation Motif

Entertainment / Literature / Temptation Motif: A motif in which one of the protagonist's primary struggles is the conflict between his or her sense of (1) personal honor and ethics and (2) his or her personal desires, ambitions, or wickedness. Biblical examples include the fall of mankind in Genesis, David and Bathsheba, and Satan's three temptations of Christ. This motif is central to a variety of patristic, medieval and Renaissance works, including the Confessions, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Paradise Lost, and The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Stories that involve a temptation motif frequently focus on internal conflict or psychological drama in addition to any external plot lines. In medieval theology, the temptation motif was often divided into three categories: concupiscentia carnis (physical temptations of the flesh such as gluttony, drunkenness, and illicit sexuality), concupiscentia oculora (temptation of the eyes' i.e., mental temptations for imagined material possessions, power or wealth) and superbia vitae (pride concerning life--the desire humans have to be more than what God created humans to be.) Perhaps the most dramatic example is the Faustian bargain, a temptation motif in which an individual sells his or her soul to the devil.
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Other Words for Motif

Motif Verb Synonyms: theme, idea, topic, subject, concept, leitmotif, pattern, figure, refrain, device, ornament, decoration, element, convention
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Other Words for Temptation

Temptation Adjective Synonyms: tempting, enticing, leading on, seducing, captivating, persuading, coaxing, cajoling
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Temptation Motif

Entertainment / Literature / Temptation Motif: A motif in which one of the protagonist's primary struggles is the conflict between his or her sense of (1) personal honor and ethics and (2) his or her personal desires, ambitions, or wickedness. Bib MORE

Ubi Sunt Motif

Entertainment / Literature / Ubi Sunt Motif: A literary motif dealing with the transience of life. The name comes from a longer Latin phrase, 'Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerent?' [Where are those who were before us?], a phrase that begins several me MORE

Motif

Entertainment / Literature / Motif: A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature. For instance, the 'loathly lady' who turns out t MORE