In Wagner's operas, especially his cycle of four operas known collectively as the Ring cycle, the leitmotif did not simply label or point to one particular character or object but rather conjured up a realm of ideas.

People have pointed out the influence of Wagner’s music on my work. Certainly I do not disclaim this influence. In particular, I followed Wagner in the use of the leitmotif, which I carried over into the work of language.

If one looks for a pattern in the political life of John Connally, one finds a leitmotif of scandals which threatened but never destroyed his career.

Mann's adaption of Wagner's technique and its development throughout his writing is analysed, including how Mann uses the leitmotif in a naturalistic, characterising and mechanical sense in Buddenbrooks, attaching it to persons and situations as etiquettes.

Such language about an American president from a European ally would have been unthinkable before Mr. Trump made outrage the leitmotif of his presidency, along with an assault on truth.

Leitmotif

Meaning

Noun

Origin

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