The Metaphysics of Annihilation: Wagner, Schopenhauer, and the Ending of the "Ring"

Abstract

Scholars have disputed the extent to which Schopenhauerian metaphysics influenced the creation of Wagner's Ring. The controversy revolves around the so-called “Schopenhauerian” ending, verses that Wagner did not set to music because, in his opinion, “their meaning is already expressed with the greatest precision in the effect of the drama-sounding-in-music.” The first part of this essay reviews Wagner's changing attitude towards his Nibelung project and considers the ending of Götterdämmerung in the light of the “Schopenhauerian” verses. The second part examines several of the important musical themes and addresses the adequacy of the traditional “redemption by love” interpretation. The final section offers a musical analysis of the Immolation Scene which supports the “Schopenhauerian” reading.

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