a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
source: WordNet 3.0
a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
source: WordNet 3.0
a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
It was the usual `boy gets girl' theme.
source: WordNet 3.0
Motive.
source: Webster 1913
In literature and the fine arts, a salient feature or element of a composition or work; esp., the theme, or central or dominant feature; specif. (Music), a motive.
