leitmotif
/ˈlaɪtmoʊˌtiːf/
noun
- A recurring theme or idea in a piece of music, literature, or art that represents a particular character, emotion, or concept.
- The composer used a haunting leitmotif for the villain in the opera.
- The film's leitmotif plays every time the hero appears on screen.
- In the novel, the image of a broken clock serves as a leitmotif for lost time.
- A repeated phrase, image, or idea that appears throughout a work or body of work.
- The director's films often feature a leitmotif of water and rain.
- The leitmotif of the color red appears in every chapter of the book.
- A leitmotif of freedom runs through all of her poetry.