Wagner's "Ring" and its symbols : the music and the myth / Robert Donington.
| Author/creator | Donington, Robert |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | New York : St. Martin's Press, [1974] |
| Description | 342 pages ; 22 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | I. Myth and music. Art and reality ; Images of Music -- II. Prelude to 'Rhinegold' [Rheingold]. The beginning of the world as a symbol for our own beginning ; The state of nature and the fall from innocence ; Accepting the opposites or escaping them in fantasy ; The return to nature in rebirth symbolism -- III. 'Rhinegold', Scene I. Alberich and Rhinemaidens ; The Rhinemaidens and their gold ; Money seen as the root of all evil ; The fire under the water ; Accidentally on purpose? ; The renunciation of love ; A Promethean theft? -- IV. 'Rhinegold', Scene 2. Wotan as an image of the self ; Wotan as a sky-god and a saviour god ; Wotan as inner consciousness ; Wotan as ego consciousness ; Wotan as father-image ; Fricka as part of Woatan's inner femininity ; Other representatives of the eternal feminine -- V. 'Rhinegold', Scene 3. Paradox of the situation brought out in the music ; The underworld of Nibeheim ; The ring as a symbol for the self ; Tarnhelm as a symbol of unconscious fantasy ; The tricking of Alberich -- VI. Rhinegold, Scene 4. Wotan acts the ruffian ; Alberich curses for the second time ; Alberich's curse: sheer disaster or blessing in disguise? ; Erda prophesies to Wotan and Freia is ransomed ; The curse gets to work: Fafner murders Fasolt ; Valhalla the impregnable fortress at last -- VII. 'The Valkyrie', Act One. Incest physical and mythological ; Incest a danger in the flesh and in fantasy ; Transgression or heroic accomplishment? ; Mythological incest as a ritual marriage ; Siegmund and Sieglinde in their hour of destiny ; Sieglinde and Hunding hear Siegmund begin his story ; Siegmund tells us of his unquiet and lonely life ; Siegmund's story shows Hunding to be his enemy ; Why Wotan is entagled in his bargains ; The sword in the tree ; The sword itself ; The long winter ends with the coming of love -- VIII. 'The Valkyrie', Act II. Brynhilde [Brunnhilde] as Valkyrie and more than Valkyrie ; Wotan and Fricka ; The sacrificial significance of Siegmund's death ; Wotan confides in Brynhilde ; The end of Siegmund ; The consequences of Siegmund's death -- IX. 'The Valkyrie', Act III. The Valkyrie sisterhood and the rescue of Sieglinde ; Wotan's estrangement from Brynhilde ; The partial reconciliation of Wotan and Brynhilde ; The parting of Wotan and Brynhilde -- X. 'Siegfried', Act I -- Mime and Siegfried ; Mime and Wotan ; The forging of Nothung -- XI. 'Siegfried', Act II. Alberich and Wotan ; Siegfried and the forest murmurs ; Siegfried and Fafner ; Alberich and Mime ; Siegfried's foster-father ; The birds guide Siegfried towards Brynhilde -- XII. 'Siegfried', Act III. Wotan and Erda meet for the last time ; Wotan and Siegfried ; Siegfried and Brynhilde ; To thine own self be true -- XIII. 'Gotterdammerung', Act I. Life's two faces: the light and the dark ; The three aged Norns ; The journey to the Rhine ; The Gibichungs ; Siegfried and Gutrune ; Siegfried and the magic potion ; The plot against Brynhilde -- XIV. 'Gotterdammerung', Act II. The personal shadow and the shadow archetype ; The quarrel between Brynhilde and Siegfried ; The alliance of Brynhilde and Siegfried ; The terrible mother as invisible partner in the plot ; The plot against Siegfried -- XV. 'Gotterdammerung', Act III, Part 1. Siegfried accepts his destiny ; Siegfried's narrative and self-discovery ; Siegfried's death -- XVI, 'Gotterdammerung', Act III, Part 2. The dark night of the soul ; The eternal masculine and the eternal feminine ; Brynhilde's hour ; The return to innocence in a maturer state ; The voluntary sacrifice of outworn values ; The baptism by fire and water ; The sacred marriage as the union of opposites ; Redemption as transformation in the psyche -- Appendix of music examples -- Chart of selected leading motives -- Bibliography -- Numerical index of motives in the 'Ring'. |
| Abstract | This book is about the poetical and musical symbols in Wagner?s Ring, and what Wagner brought, with all the suggestive artistry at his disposal, into symbolical and artistic consciousness. |
| General note | "Appendix of music examples": pages 275-306. |
| Bibliography note | Bibliography: pages 316-328. |
| LCCN | 74075421 |
| Stock number | $4.95 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML410.W15 D6 1974B | ✔ Available | Place Hold |