Peripheral Literary Motifs in What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Abstract

Ian McEwan is a prolific British writer, who is known for critically acclaimed novels and short stories. In McEwan’s most recent novel, published in 2025, What We Can Know, two major themes are approached: (i) the issue of climate change and (ii) the search for a lost piece of poetry. In addition, the novel involves a number of peripheral literary motifs, which provide a nuanced understanding of the major themes and shed light onto the inner complexity of the novel. In the present article, by means of a qualitative methodology, the following peripheral motifs in the novel What We Can Know have been identified and analysed: (i) Archipelago, (ii) Artificial Intelligence, (iii) Butterfly, (iv) Copious Times, (v) Ferry, (vi) Fruit, (vii) Humanities, (viii) Life Expectancy, (ix) Nigeria, (x) Oxford, (xi) Social Media, (xii) The Lake District, (xiii) the War against Ukraine, and (xiv) the War against the West. The results of the study contribute to providing a panoramic view on the novel.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52505/1857-4300.2026.1(326).08