# Wotan and Brunnhilde - King Lear and Cordelia



## marceliotstein (Feb 23, 2019)

I hope nobody's getting sick of all this Wagner talk, because I've got a new idea to throw out here.

Last week I took my daughter to "Clemenza di Tito" (she loved it) at the Met, and when we passed a big picture of Christine Goerke as Brunnhilde I tried to describe the immensity of the Ring cycle, which she knows I'm doing a fast study on this spring as I attend the shows. She had heard of the character of Brunnhilde and asked me a simple question: "What's Brunnhilde's deal?".

I pondered this simple question - yes, indeed, what IS Brunnhilde's deal? - and then I had a sudden flash of insight. I know my daughter knows her Shakespeare (she's a high school English teacher) so I suddenly said "Well, she's kind of like Cordelia. And Wotan is kind of like King Lear."

I meant this as a quick answer - but then as I pondered it all it gradually occurred to me that there's a LOT of insight to be gained by comparing King Lear to Wotan and Cordelia to Brunnhilde. 

Like Lear, Wotan is power-hungry and charismatic but inclined to impulsivity and despair. His own mistakes doom his legacy. He's also in denial about the reality of his own vulnerability - his faltering skills as he ages, his tendency to make terrible decisions.

Like Cordelia, Brunnhilde is the devoted daughter who understands her father's best intentions better than he understands them himself. She is so selfless and trusting that she allows him to punish her severely for the crime of trying to help him avoid a mistake. As his entire kingdom falls, she takes the burden of guilt upon herself. 

It never occurred to me that the Ring cycle can be compared to "King Lear" until I after I blurted it out to my own daughter. Now I'm thinking I can't be the first one who's thought of this. Does anyone know if I'm walking on well-trod ground with this comparison? And, a broad question - was Wagner interested in Shakespeare?


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

marceliotstein said:


> It never occurred to me that the Ring cycle can be compared to "King Lear" until I after I blurted it out to my own daughter. Now I'm thinking I can't be the first one who's thought of this. Does anyone know if I'm walking on well-trod ground with this comparison? And, a broad question - was Wagner interested in Shakespeare?


It's a great comparison, but you're right - you're not the first:

https://cpb-ap-se2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.unimelb.edu.au/dist/6/184/files/2016/04/39_Halliwell-z2aak8.pdf


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