This paper examines the novels of Chinua Achebe; Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God, A Man of the People, and Anthills of the Savannah to determine common motifs and patterns running through them. These motifs and patterns are arrived at after a critical reading of the novels. Subsequently, the researchers apply Sociolinguistic Functional Stylistics (SFS) in the analysis of the motifs in the novels. The paper observes that the recurring literary elements and techniques include change in point of view, folktales, proverbs, rhetoric, Igbo (vernacular) words, songs, Pidgin English, prayers, corruption, and in medias res plot. The paper concludes that the motifs and patterns enhance the meanings of the works, add to their aesthetic quality, while the folklore elements give them the outlook of African Literature. Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God are concerned with the pre-colonial and colonial Igbo society, while No Longer at Ease, A Man of the People and Anthills of the Savannah are preoccupied with the developments in postcolonial or post-independence Nigeria. The paper recommends that critics and writers of African Literature should emphasize on the aesthetic, thematic and folkloric qualities.
Keywords: Motifs, Patterns, folktale, in medias res., rhetoric
