Words similar to leitmotif

Example sentences for: leitmotif

How can you use “leitmotif” in a sentence? Here are some example sentences to help you improve your vocabulary:

[LINK TO AUDIO CLIP] In Company, Sondheim used the click-buzz of the telephone as a leitmotif for urban neurosis; in Rent, Larson tries to pull something similar with his "Voice Mail" numbers, a series of a-cappella answering-machine messages.
How come this leitmotif informs your fiction and now your public e-mails, but not your movies (except the one based on your novel)?