A leitmotif (German: 'leading motif') is a recurring musical theme, harmony or phrase associated with a specific character, place, object or idea in a dramatic work, returning whenever that entity appears or is referenced. The term was coined by musicologist Hans von Wolzogen in connection with Wagner's Ring Cycle, in which each major figure — Siegfried, Brünnhilde, the sword Nothung, Valhalla — has their own distinctive musical signature. Wagner developed the device into an entire compositional system: hundreds of leitmotifs weave through the four operas, combining, transforming and commenting on the dramatic action. The technique was directly absorbed by Hollywood film composers: John Williams's Star Wars score, with its themes for Luke, Leia, Darth Vader and the Force, is essentially a Wagnerian leitmotif system. The device gives music the ability to comment, recall, foreshadow and irony.