# Wagner - The Ring of the Nibelung



## RogerWaters (Feb 13, 2017)

There are many TC threads on what may be Wagner's greatest work, the Ring of the Nibelung (The Ring). However, apart from one imperfect exception that I can find, all avoid the issue of interpretation focusing instead on favourite recordings, acts, productions etc. Curiously, there is not much in the way of interpretation to be found on the internet including Wikipedia.

This is unfortunate, as various characters in The Ring are caught up in a complex thread of passionate action for a variety of ends. Without some overarching purpose the story can come across as a slightly hammy struggle between half a dozen fairytale personages for a ring, involving hours of scolding and cheating and bellowing.

First there is the drama and the reasons internal to the drama for which characters do what they do. Then there is the higher-level philosophical meaning behind those dramatic turns, to which the latter serve as allegory for the former. Why does Alberic secure the Rheingold? Because only someone who foreswears love can claim the Rheinegold, and Alberic was humiliated by the Rhinemaidens causing him to denounce love and steal what is precious to his antagonists. But what philosophical purpose does this dramatic sequence of events serve? Bernard Shaw wrote that Alberic symbolises owners of rampant capital who attain wealth by forsaking humane emotions. Here the question of philosophical interpretation arises.

Now, I'm not much interested in postmodern analysis which claims that all interpretations are valid. I'm interested in the author's intentions. Thus I'd like to explore, with you, interpretations of The Ring which might plausibly be said to mirror the intentions of Wagner in creating the work. This interpretation could be political or it could be more abstract. At any rate it should be justifiable based on what we know of Wagner and his recorded comments on the work. The Ring cannot be an allegory of a football match, for instance, because Wagner didn't follow football and never said anything about football. Furthermore, the interpretation should be consistent with the dramatic turn of events in the work itself. The Ring cannot be an allegory of the Spartan wars, as the dramatic sequence of events in The Ring bear no allegoric resemblance to a the Spartan wars.

So much for introducing the topic. I plan shortly to raise Bernard Shaw's famous socialist interpretation, as a way in but others are welcome in advance of this.

My ultimate hunch is that there may be no overarching meaning, and that Wagner assembled a series of events that hang loosely together based on norse mythology and a range of emotions that interested him. But this would be disappointing.


----------



## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Have you read Deryck Cooke's book, _I Saw the World End_? Even though Cooke never got to finish it, I think that what he left before his death makes a fine study of the _Ring_. He goes through Wagner's principal primary and secondary sources and then embarks on a study of the text; the section on _Die Walküre_ is rather brief and he did not get to _Siegfried_ or _Götterdämmerung_. A planned second volume would have focused on the music. In any case, _Das Rheingold_ sets up the symbolism, drama, and music for the rest of the cycle, so some of Cooke's intentions can be read or inferred here. The overarching symbolism is essentially a power-versus-love struggle. But this can be manifested in many different ways.

I haven't read Shaw's book. I did, however, see the videotapes of the Boulez/Chéreau _Ring_, and there is a longer article about Chéreau's interpretation and its relation to Shaw here: https://academic.oup.com/oq/article/30/2-3/172/2962735. Of course, a power/love allegory at a basic level could be dramatized in terms familiar to Shaw.

I disagree that it's a loosely assembled series of events. Wagner was really skilled at assembling a coherent narrative based on diverging, sometimes self-contradictory myths. His ideal goal would have been to uncover the hidden superstructure of the mythology, i.e. the original form of the myths before their divergent evolution over time. He doesn't always follow the mythology (because it isn't always possible), but most of his interpolations are at least based on inferences from the mythology.

Cooke also noted how similar Alberich and Wotan are in _Das Rheingold_. Have a look at the following (adapted from page 159 of his book):

_Alberich_ went to _the Rhine_, with its three guardian spirits _the Rhinemaidens_. His desire for _love_ being _frustrated_, he made from _the Rhinegold_ a talisman of _unconditional power_, which was _the Ring_; but first he had to _renounce love_, and the result impoverished nature through _the disappearance of the Gold and the consequent darkening of the Rhine_.

_Wotan_ went to _the Well of Wisdom_, with its three guardian spirits _the Norns_. His desire for _knowledge_ being _satisfied_, he made from _the Tree of Life_ a talisman of _power conditioned by law_, which was _the Spear_; but first he had to _lose an eye and thus become blind to the claims of love_, and the result impoverished nature through _the drying up of the Well and the withering of the Tree_.

So in their different ways, these autocrats/dictators/capitalists/[insert interpretation here] are rather similar. And yet ultimately Brünnhilde's sacrifice through love triumphs and everyone in power loses everything. So I can see where Shaw got some of his ideas.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I think your hunch is more accurate and it's how I prefer to enjoy the Ring: it's just a grand, entertaining fairy tale. Did Wagner have some overarching theme? Maybe, but why let that ruin it? I've read all sorts of interpretations and maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand them. I just don't buy any of it. The Ring has all the human failings that have been around for thousands of years; you can find them all in the Bible, too. Just enjoy it as it is and don't read too much into it.


----------

