leitmotif

leit·mo·tif

also leit·mo·tiv L0113500 (līt′mō-tēf′)n.1. A melodic passage or phrase, especially in Wagnerian opera, associated with a specific character, situation, or element.2. A dominant and recurring theme, as in a novel.

[German Leitmotiv : leiten, to lead (from Middle High German, from Old High German leitan; see leit- in Indo-European roots) + Motiv, motif (from French motif; see motif).]

leitmotif

(ˈlaɪtməʊˌtiːf) or

leitmotiv

n1. (Classical Music) music a recurring short melodic phrase or theme used, esp in Wagnerian music dramas, to suggest a character, thing, etc2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme in a literary work[C19: from German leitmotiv leading motif]

leit•mo•tif

(ˈlaɪt moʊˌtif)

n. a motif or theme associated throughout a music drama with a particular person, situation, or idea. [1875–80; < German: leading motive]

leitmotif

A German word meaning leading motif, used to mean the main or recurring theme in something.

Thesaurus

Noun

leitmotif - a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas)leitmotivmelodic line, melodic phrase, melody, tune, strain, air, line - a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven"

leitmotif

leitmotivnoun theme, idea, strain, phrase, melody, motif The song's title could serve as a leitmotif for her life.

Translations

leitmotif

enUK

leitmotif

, leitmotiv1. 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

Leitmotif

a musical figure—a motif, a phrase, an entire theme (rarely), or a progression of harmony—that is stated repeatedly as a representational device in a composition. A leitmotif is usually intended to characterize or illustrate a particular personage, subject, situation, idea, phenomenon, or emotion.

Nineteenth-century composers used the leitmotif principle on a wide scale in opera, ballet, and instrumental program music. In his late operas R. Wagner based the musical and dramatic development on a complex system of leitmotifs. The Russian classical composers Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky used the leitmotif in an artistically convincing way but combined it with other musical principles; thus the leitmotif was not as central to their music as it is to Wagner’s.

The leitmotif has retained its importance in 20th-century music—for example, in Prokofiev’s operas and ballets. Motion-picture scores rely heavily on the principle.

Literary analysis frequently turns to the concept of the leitmotif—a representational figure that is repeated in a work as a constant attribute of a character, mood, or situation. Appearing repeatedly, often with modification, the leitmotif grows in associations and acquires an ideological, psychological, or symbolic depth. For example, the noise of a watchman’s rattle in Chekhov’s novella The Bride is transformed into a symbol for the monotony and dullness of philistine life; simultaneously it underscores the changes in the heroine’s attitudes. In poetry, there are also leitmotifs of sound, rhythm, and intonation.

The term “leitmotif” has also come to have a broader common meaning, which defines, for example, the dominant theme in a person’s activity or in a chain of events.

REFERENCES

Wagner, R. “0 primenenii muzyki k drame.” In Izbr. stati Moscow, 1935.
Druskin, M. S. Voprosy muzykal’noi dramaturgii opery. Leningrad, 1952. Iarustovskii, B. M. Dramaturgiia russkoi opernoi klassiki. Moscow, 1953.
Rimsky-Korsakov, N. A. “‘Snegurochka’—vesenniaia skazka.” Poln. sobr. sock, vol. IV. Moscow, 1960.

G. V. KRAUKLIS

leitmotif

Related to leitmotif: leitmotiv

noun

Synonyms for leitmotif

noun theme

Synonyms

theme
idea
strain
phrase
melody
motif

Synonyms for leitmotif

noun a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas)

Synonyms

leitmotiv

Related Words

melodic line
melodic phrase
melody
tune
strain
air
line