Tolkien and Wagner

From Tolkien Gateway
Tolkien and Wagner: The Ring and Der Ring
Tolkien and Wagner.png
AuthorChristopher MacLachlan
PublisherWalking Tree Publishers
Released25 February 2012
FormatPaperback
Pages240
ISBN978-3-905703-21-4
SeriesCormarë Series
Preceded byHobbit Place-names
Followed byWagner and Tolkien: Mythmakers

Tolkien and Wagner: The Ring and Der Ring investigates the relationship between the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Richard Wagner. It was published as No. 24 in the Cormarë Series.

From the publisher[edit | edit source]

Tolkien famously rejected comparison of his Ring with Wagner's, though there is good evidence that Tolkien knew much more about Der Ring des Nibelungen than he let on after the publication of The Lord of the Rings. Analysis of that work from a Wagnerian point of view enables consideration of it in a new way. By exploring the parallels between Wagner's Ring and Tolkien's, a fresh interpretation of Tolkien's work emerges, one that hinges on associating Gandalf with Wotan. Like Wagner's god, Gandalf has to find a way of solving the problems posed by the Ring and like Wotan he cannot succeed without other people. When the plots of The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) are examined in this way it becomes apparent how much they owe to Wagner's music-drama, and the role of Gandalf is opened to new explanation.

External links[edit | edit source]


Cormarë Series volumes
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