leitmotif

noun

1. a motif or theme associated throughout a music drama with a particular person, situation, or idea.

noun

1. music a recurring short melodic phrase or theme used, esp in Wagnerian music dramas, to suggest a character, thing, etc
2. an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme in a literary work

n.1876, “a musical figure to which some definite meaning is attached,” from German Leitmotiv, literally “lead motive,” from leiten “to lead” (see lead (v.1)) + Motiv (see motive). A term associated with Wagnerian musical drama, though the thing itself is at least as old as Mozart. “The leitmotif must be characteristic of the person or thing it is intended to represent.” [“Elson’s Music Dictionary”] A frequently recurring bit of melody, usually in opera, associated with a person, thing, or emotion; Leitmotiv is German for “leading theme.” The leitmotif may be heard in the instrumental or the vocal part.