Leitmotifs

First off, I'll preface this post by stating that I know as much about music theory as I know about thermonuclear physics. So I won't highlight my ignorance by talking about chord progression, semintone phrases or chromatic elements.

The purpose of this post is to talk about using the concept of leitmotifs for characters in fiction. But, first I'd like to introduce some people.

In the Star Wars epic, which now encompasses six episodes, George Lucas used the same composer, the incomparable John Williams, to score all six movies. John Williams, right from the start, established leitmotifs for all of the major characters in the Star Wars movies.

What is a leitmotif? To borrow the definition in the Wikipedia entry on leitmotifs, it is is a recurring musical theme, associated within a particular piece of music with a particular person, place or idea.

Luke Skywalker, whom we first meet in Star Wars, Episode III, is the hero of what is known as the Classic Star Wars trilogy. His theme, or leitmotif, is also the main theme of all six movies and, when we hear it, we think of heroism and adventure.

His twin sister, Leia Organa Skywalker, is also introduced in Episode III, and she too has a leitmotif. It has a lush, romantic feel to it, and we hear it most in Episode IV, The Empires Stikes Back.

Finally, last but not least, the dark father of Luke and Leia, Darth Vader or, as he was known before the Dark Side of the Force consumed him, Anakin Skywalker.

Darth's Vader leitmotif, which is also known as The Imperial March, is powerful, dark and militaristic. It not only reprsents the repressive, totalitarian aspect of the Galactic Empire but also the souless, ruthless persona of the man, now more machine, who serves it.

Other leitmotifs are heard in the six films: Obi-Wan Kenobi has one, which is also associated with the Force and the Order of the Jedi Knights. Yoda has a very promiment theme, which suggests wisdom and the passing on of this knowledge to Luke. Han and Leia have a love theme, and just about all of the creatures from the Jawas to Jabba the Hutt have their own leitmotifs.

I was pleased to note that in the last movie, Episode III, The Revenge of the Sith, Williams used the leitmotifs for both Luke and Leia in a most poignant manner. The last few minutes of Episode III is basically a slient movie. With their mother dead and their father having been transfomred into a mechanical monster, the twins, in order to protect them from both their father and the Emperor he now serves, are split up.

We first see Senator Bail Organa arriving on Alderaan to present their foster daughter to his wife, the Queen of Alderaan. As he gently places Leia in his wife's arms, Leia's leitmotif, the one we come to associate with her when she becomes a young woman fighting for the freedom of the galaxy, is played.

The next scene is of Obi-Wan arriving at a lonely homestead in the middle of the vast deserts of Tatooine, where he also gently places Luke into the arms of his aunt, Beru Lars. Luke's heroic theme or leitmotif is then played.

Lucas and Williams, by playing those themes as the twins are given into the care of those who will see them grow safely to adulthood, gives the audience hope and reassurance at the end of what is basically a bleak movie. That is the power of the leitmotif.

Now, how can this be applied to characters in a book?

One way would be to use certain words or phrases with a character. Another would be to use soft, lyrical words whenever a character appears in a story that you may want to present to the reader as that kind of person. Or, perhaps, clipped, harsh words if the character is someone who is brusqe and to the point.

Of course, one would have to be very subtle in the use of such techniques. You don't want to hit the reader over the head with the leitmotif. You want it, prefreably, to play in the background as they read, affecting the reader on an almost subconscious level. But if done effectively, it could be a way to not only suggest the mood or tone of a particular scene, but also the psychological hue of your characters.

The point is that coming up with ways to differentiate between the characters in a story can go a long way towards helping the reader not only know who each character is but what they're about.