A motif is a recurring narrative element with symbolic significance that appears frequently in a story. It can be an image, sound, word, symbol, or idea that comes back again and again within a particular story. A motif can be created through the use of imagery, structural components, language, and other narrative elements such as theme or mood). It helps develop other narrative elements such as theme or mood and establishes a pattern of ideas that may serve different conceptual purposes in different works). A motif can be used to connect different moments that might seem otherwise separated by time and space). While it may appear interchangeable with the related concept, theme, a general rule is that a theme is abstract and a motif is concrete). In other words, a narrative motif—a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning—can produce a theme; but it can also create other narrative aspects). Motifs strengthen a story by adding images and ideas to the theme present throughout the narrative. They allow authors, writers, and directors to create a more poetic and structured narrative, cluing in readers and audiences to symbols of larger ideas.