The Ring of Truth: The Wisdom of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung
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- Author：Roger Scruton
- ISBN：0141980729
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Summary
Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung is one of the greatest works of art created in modern times， and has fascinated both critics and devotees for over a century and a half。 No recent study has examined the meaning of Wagner's masterpiece with the attention to detail and intellectual power that Roger Scruton brings to it in this inspiring account。
The Ring of Truth is an exploration of the drama， music， symbolism and philosophy of the Ring from a writer whose knowledge and understanding of the Western musical tradition are the equal of his capacities as a philosopher。 Scruton shows how， through musical connections and brilliant dramatic strokes， Wagner is able to express truths about the human condition which few other creative artists have been able to convey so convincingly。 For Wagner， writes Scruton， the task of art is to 'show us freedom in its immediate， contingent， human form， reminding us of what it means to us。 Even if we live in a world from which gods and heroes have disappeared we can， by imagining them， dramatize the deep truths of our condition and renew our faith in what we are。' Love， death， sacrifice and the liberation that we win through sacrifice - these are the great themes of the Ring， as they are of this book。
Scruton's passionate and moving interpretation allows us to understand more fully than ever how Wagner conveys his ideas about who we are， and why the Ring continues to be such a hypnotically absorbing work。
The Ring of Truth is an exploration of the drama， music， symbolism and philosophy of the Ring from a writer whose knowledge and understanding of the Western musical tradition are the equal of his capacities as a philosopher。 Scruton shows how， through musical connections and brilliant dramatic strokes， Wagner is able to express truths about the human condition which few other creative artists have been able to convey so convincingly。 For Wagner， writes Scruton， the task of art is to 'show us freedom in its immediate， contingent， human form， reminding us of what it means to us。 Even if we live in a world from which gods and heroes have disappeared we can， by imagining them， dramatize the deep truths of our condition and renew our faith in what we are。' Love， death， sacrifice and the liberation that we win through sacrifice - these are the great themes of the Ring， as they are of this book。
Scruton's passionate and moving interpretation allows us to understand more fully than ever how Wagner conveys his ideas about who we are， and why the Ring continues to be such a hypnotically absorbing work。
Reviews
Mariusz
，
Being a Wagner fan， I was keen to explore the meanings embedded in the Ring cycle。 Having read Richard Wagner’s biographies， and particularly aware of his solid grounding in the German philosophy of the 19th Century， I was reasonably certain that layers of philosophical thought must have been deposited by Wagner in this very important for him work。 Given that the creation of the entire cycle took close to 30 years， it seemed probable that the work’s philosophical outlook may have evolved in line Being a Wagner fan， I was keen to explore the meanings embedded in the Ring cycle。 Having read Richard Wagner’s biographies， and particularly aware of his solid grounding in the German philosophy of the 19th Century， I was reasonably certain that layers of philosophical thought must have been deposited by Wagner in this very important for him work。 Given that the creation of the entire cycle took close to 30 years， it seemed probable that the work’s philosophical outlook may have evolved in line with the development of the German philosophical thought of the period， and with Wagner’s own views。Roger Scruton’s work more than satiated my thirst。 Layer after layer， in a methodical way， Scruton uncovers the hidden meanings deposited by Wagner。 The parts of Wagner’s work whose meaning is mysterious， or which may appear incomplete， are projected against the backdrop of philosophical thought of the 19th Century， and Wagner’s own views expressed elsewhere， as a result of which these parts become complete and understandable。 The author emphasises that the conclusions contained in the book have by no means been authorised by Wagner。 They represent Scruton’s own detective work grounded in the history of philosophy and his own intellectual powers， the latter admired by many， regardless of his well-known strongly conservative views。It is definitely not a book to be read by people who simply wish to understand better the story of the Ring。 Having started my Ring-related literary exploits from Donnington’s “Wagner’s Ring and Its Symbols”， with Scruton’s work to follow， and only then intending to read Spencer’s “Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung: A Companion”， I had to concede that exactly the opposite should have been done。It is by no means a book which makes easy reading。 Although concept formulation is delivered in very clear， and literarily beautiful， language， the density of concepts is such that it sometimes forces the reader to re-read passages again， and sometimes again still， in order to understand fully the author’s train of thought。 Overall， a delight to read but best left for long evenings with nothing else to do。 。。。more
Ancience
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Very interesting。 I wish I understood music better， so that I could understand this book better， and so understand the Ring Cycle better。"Modern people he [Wagner] believed， are living beyond the death of their gods 。。。。 this means that we live with an enhanced awareness of our contingency - of the fact of being thrown into the world without an explanation。""The envious person wants to possess what the other has。 The resentful person wishes to destroy the other's possession， whether or not he ca Very interesting。 I wish I understood music better， so that I could understand this book better， and so understand the Ring Cycle better。"Modern people he [Wagner] believed， are living beyond the death of their gods 。。。。 this means that we live with an enhanced awareness of our contingency - of the fact of being thrown into the world without an explanation。""The envious person wants to possess what the other has。 The resentful person wishes to destroy the other's possession， whether or not he can possess it himself。"Mr Scruton quotes Aristotle in the Poetics "It is not impossibilities that destroy the narrative， but improbabilities - episodes that are false to the characters and their situation" and in his opinion Wagner keeps a straight bat。 。。。more
Gaius
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I find Scruton's politics reprehensible， and yet his understanding and delineation of Wagner is profound。 This， I'm sure， is one of the best books written about The Ring Cycle。 It discusses all aspects of the work: music， themes， mythology， leitmotifs。 It's written in that ideal middle-ground by being understandable for the layperson （such as myself） without trivializing the complexity of the ideas。 I'd go as far as to say a book like this is almost essential if you want to "get" the operas; als I find Scruton's politics reprehensible， and yet his understanding and delineation of Wagner is profound。 This， I'm sure， is one of the best books written about The Ring Cycle。 It discusses all aspects of the work: music， themes， mythology， leitmotifs。 It's written in that ideal middle-ground by being understandable for the layperson （such as myself） without trivializing the complexity of the ideas。 I'd go as far as to say a book like this is almost essential if you want to "get" the operas; also get your hands on a translation of the libretto。 。。。more
Dan Graser
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This is a strange book for me in that I have to sympathize with the very small group of people for whom this would be an appropriate text。 When he decides to function as a modern philosopher of music， Roger Scruton speaks at a level that is far too technical for the lay-reader but also not nearly technical - in a musical sense - to be read as musicology or music theory。 This is not to say he doesn't know his subject， but rather， the field he is operating in is one which most professional musicia This is a strange book for me in that I have to sympathize with the very small group of people for whom this would be an appropriate text。 When he decides to function as a modern philosopher of music， Roger Scruton speaks at a level that is far too technical for the lay-reader but also not nearly technical - in a musical sense - to be read as musicology or music theory。 This is not to say he doesn't know his subject， but rather， the field he is operating in is one which most professional musicians don't recognize and most casual listeners will not see the need for。 The content of this work is wonderful for me， a professional musician who is an ardent lover of Wagnerian opera。 There have been a few great works on the composer recently， the finest of which is from Alex Ross， "Wagnerism，" and this book from Scruton focuses entirely on The Ring and an examination from the level of philosophy。 Though he makes some technical musical arguments， the discussion here mainly stays at the philosophical and theological implications of the work's plot and the symbolism inherent in its characters。 His examination of Wotan is particularly striking， though I found the Siegfried analysis lacking。 He gives you a deft summary of the drama as well as some of the philosophical and aesthetic challenges from the likes of Nietzsche and Adorno。 So， to whom is this recommended？ Well， if you are a musician who happens to enjoy Wagner， this will function as an interesting new level of discourse to which we are not frequently exposed in our theory/musicology curricula。 For the casual fan of the operas？ I think you will only enjoy this if you have some musical training， know the Ring inside and out from a musical and dramatic point of view， and are perfectly fine reading books that deal at the philosophical and psychological level as pertains to the experience of music and opera。。。I know， like I said earlier， a small group of people。 。。。more
E7boehm
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Good but may try to do to much。 I think it started out as a nice read and ever more became a chore。 I think Wagner may be better enjoyed than understood。 It is very comprehensive but if you do not read scores or speak german you are constantly refreshing terms。
Will Fleming
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Scruton is unnervingly eager to dismiss Wagner's problematic anti-Semitism。 He even uses the some-of-his-best-friends-were-Jews defense。 Aside from， it's certainly a worthwhile analysis of Wagner， although the style can be rather bombastic。 Scruton is unnervingly eager to dismiss Wagner's problematic anti-Semitism。 He even uses the some-of-his-best-friends-were-Jews defense。 Aside from， it's certainly a worthwhile analysis of Wagner， although the style can be rather bombastic。 。。。more
Ferhat Culfaz
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Over intellectualised and quite deep analysis of Wagner’s Ring Cycle。 The leitmotifs are extensively covered but beyond third chapter is too much for most people。
Tero Weckroth
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Definately no easy reading， and not always agreeable。 But combines two areas of interest of mine: music and philosophy， and in very intriguing ways。 Also， for a person who grew up in the seventies and faced a bit of cultural radicalism at school， the introduction to classics like Wagner is very refreshing。
John Wilcock
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This is a reasonable overview of The Ring and its philosophical themes。 It covers all the main areas and offers some small amount of criticism of other interpretations that have been made of the cycle。 Having previously read Scruton’s book on Tristan and Isolde （Death-Devoted Heart）， which is far more revealing - though also more personal and speculative - I felt slightly let down but this more prosaic account of The Ring。I may not have agreed with all the directions that the Tristan book follow This is a reasonable overview of The Ring and its philosophical themes。 It covers all the main areas and offers some small amount of criticism of other interpretations that have been made of the cycle。 Having previously read Scruton’s book on Tristan and Isolde （Death-Devoted Heart）， which is far more revealing - though also more personal and speculative - I felt slightly let down but this more prosaic account of The Ring。I may not have agreed with all the directions that the Tristan book followed but it was clever and insightful to experience。 There isn’t a lot that anyone who is already familiar with the large amount of Ring cycle literature will pick up from this new work。 However it’s still one of the best accounts that there is around and so if someone is not already familiar with other versions then Scruton’s pleasantly engrossing writing style is a good place to start。 He is clearly a fan and the enthusiasm for the work comes across in every page。 I would also recommend Donington’s Jung analysis （Wagner's 'Ring' and its Symbols: The Music and the Myth） for a contrasting account。 。。。more
Chris Lira
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I only read part of this book page-to-page（the plot summaries sections）; I only skimmed the other parts。 This is not a book for the casual reader; this is a fairly scholarly analysis of Wagner's Ring Cycle operas。 The author is a philosopher and there were some （for me， unreadable） sections on philosophy， and in-depth discussions on symbolism， etc。 i should have just read a few Wikipedia articles on the operas rather than try to slog through this。 YMMV， of course。 If you are a lifelong Wagner fa I only read part of this book page-to-page（the plot summaries sections）; I only skimmed the other parts。 This is not a book for the casual reader; this is a fairly scholarly analysis of Wagner's Ring Cycle operas。 The author is a philosopher and there were some （for me， unreadable） sections on philosophy， and in-depth discussions on symbolism， etc。 i should have just read a few Wikipedia articles on the operas rather than try to slog through this。 YMMV， of course。 If you are a lifelong Wagner fan who has seen multiple Ring Cycles， you may get more out of it than I did。 。。。more
Chris Lawrence
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Quite astonishingly erudite on many levels。 I can't say I understood it all， and I remember thinking a number of times as I read it that I'd need to read it all again to do it justice。 I also wondered if some of the narrative （& musicological） transitions were more far-fetched than justified。 But Scruton certainly knows his stuff， as I remember from Birkbeck。 Quite astonishingly erudite on many levels。 I can't say I understood it all， and I remember thinking a number of times as I read it that I'd need to read it all again to do it justice。 I also wondered if some of the narrative （& musicological） transitions were more far-fetched than justified。 But Scruton certainly knows his stuff， as I remember from Birkbeck。 。。。more
Metodi Pachev
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A deep inquiry into the depths of the Wagnerian epic "The Ring of the Nibelung" involving philosophy， history， and music。 Funny thing is that even though I learned a lot about the "Ring" （a favorite work of art of mine since a couple of years） now it seems even more enigmatic to me: the book reveals quite a lot， but Wagner's work is too complicated to be comprehensively analyzed。 A deep inquiry into the depths of the Wagnerian epic "The Ring of the Nibelung" involving philosophy， history， and music。 Funny thing is that even though I learned a lot about the "Ring" （a favorite work of art of mine since a couple of years） now it seems even more enigmatic to me: the book reveals quite a lot， but Wagner's work is too complicated to be comprehensively analyzed。 。。。more
Davidg
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Like another reviewer， there was much of this that I didn't understand but would like to。 Despite listening to， and performing，classical music for years， I don't have the musicological training to make the most of the chapter on music。 And having tried to get my head round the history of Western Philosophy in the past， I still get my Hegel and Schopenhauer， etc confused。Having seen Opera North's wonderful production last year， I was delighted to have an opportunity to broaden my understanding。 I Like another reviewer， there was much of this that I didn't understand but would like to。 Despite listening to， and performing，classical music for years， I don't have the musicological training to make the most of the chapter on music。 And having tried to get my head round the history of Western Philosophy in the past， I still get my Hegel and Schopenhauer， etc confused。Having seen Opera North's wonderful production last year， I was delighted to have an opportunity to broaden my understanding。 I just wish I could hold all the leitmotifs in my head and recognise them when they appear。 But is is good to have the music for them all。 Now all I need is an annotated score，with them all marked。I would have liked something more about how the death of the gods relates to the death of the Christian God， as proclaimed by Nietzsche。 Scruton talks about Siegfried being the sacrifice that reunites Brunhild with Wotan， which does seem to also apply to the sacrifice of Jesus redeeming humankind。 But there was no link given。It sent me back to the music and I know I will have to read it again and hopefully grasp a little more。 。。。more
David
，
Oh boy。 I still have not listened to the Ring of the Nibelung， and I still consider this one of the best books I read in 2016。 A brilliant analysis of Wagner， a powerful summary of his Ring operas， a masterclass on 19th century continental philosophy， and a compelling collection of wisdom on love， power， law， mutability， human life - there's a lot in this book that is worth reflecting on beyond any particular treatment of an opera or composer。 Highly highly recommended。 Oh boy。 I still have not listened to the Ring of the Nibelung， and I still consider this one of the best books I read in 2016。 A brilliant analysis of Wagner， a powerful summary of his Ring operas， a masterclass on 19th century continental philosophy， and a compelling collection of wisdom on love， power， law， mutability， human life - there's a lot in this book that is worth reflecting on beyond any particular treatment of an opera or composer。 Highly highly recommended。 。。。more
Don McMorland
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Probably deserves more than 4 stars。 My fault， but some of it was beyond my comprehension and some of it appeared to ramble and repeat more than seemed necessary。 However I read it as I was approaching my fourth live performance of The Ring over several decades and after I had read much else about the work over many years。 I found this book very valuable in advancing my understanding and thinking about The Ring and highly recommend it， though not for the Wagnerian novice。
Thomas
，
This is fascinating， but it does help if you've seen the Ring Cycle。 It helps even more if you're a musician or music scholar （I'm neither） and can understand terminology such as triad， diatonic scale， triadic arpeggio， chromatic / diminished chord， etc。 At any rate， this goes more in depth than you ever though you could go with this tetralogy， impressive given how much ink has been spent on these operas over the decades。 More than just a deep-dive into the music， it also goes deep on the philos This is fascinating， but it does help if you've seen the Ring Cycle。 It helps even more if you're a musician or music scholar （I'm neither） and can understand terminology such as triad， diatonic scale， triadic arpeggio， chromatic / diminished chord， etc。 At any rate， this goes more in depth than you ever though you could go with this tetralogy， impressive given how much ink has been spent on these operas over the decades。 More than just a deep-dive into the music， it also goes deep on the philosophical etymology that informed Wagner's adapatation of the Old Norse sagas。 Old Hegelians versus Young Hegelians？ Who knew there was such a rivalry？ Make it through this and you'll know more about Wotan， Freia， Fricka， Fafner， Fasolt， Siegfried， Brunnhilde et al。 than anyone you know。 。。。more
Marks54
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Opera is a expensive acquired taste for me。 I am further hindered by a lack of fluency in French， German， Russian， or Italian。 I have become increasingly sympathetic to the deed to do homework in advance of attending a performance。 A little bit of preparation generally goes a long way， especially if the music is really good。 When the music is less accessible， more preparation is needed。Then there is Wagner。The Lyric began the Ring cycle this year and after an initial encounter with Wagner's Pars Opera is a expensive acquired taste for me。 I am further hindered by a lack of fluency in French， German， Russian， or Italian。 I have become increasingly sympathetic to the deed to do homework in advance of attending a performance。 A little bit of preparation generally goes a long way， especially if the music is really good。 When the music is less accessible， more preparation is needed。Then there is Wagner。The Lyric began the Ring cycle this year and after an initial encounter with Wagner's Parsifal， I looked hard for a book that would provide an introduction to Wagner's four opera sequence。 Scruton's book served this purpose well。 It is a scholarly introduction to this complex work that provided historical background， introduced some of the critical tradition， tried hard to explain the complex of plot lines， and even provided an index of the varied musical themes that appear and reappear in these operas， along with some musical identifiers and some explanation of how the music fits with the story， setting， and characters。So far， we have only seen Das Rheingold but I enjoyed the work immensely and did not feel left out。 The book does a good job at identifying the layered meanings in the Ring cycle and there is a lot going on here， regardless of what one thinks about Wagner。 This is a more academic than a popular treatment and so is a bit harder than it needs to be as a read。 That is OK， since Wagner is clearly an acquired taste - at least for me。 I fully intend to review Scruton's book as the series is presented and especially when it will be performed in its entirety in Chicago in 2020。 。。。more
Flob
，
I've been looking for a good book that sheds light on the Ring and this is it。 I'm not completely convinced by the case for Wagner and I retain some of Nietzsche's opinion。 Nevertheless the music is sublime。 I've been looking for a good book that sheds light on the Ring and this is it。 I'm not completely convinced by the case for Wagner and I retain some of Nietzsche's opinion。 Nevertheless the music is sublime。 。。。more
Luiz H。S。L。 de Vasconcellos
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