It will be
most convenient in this place to treat 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' as a
complete work, although 'Tristan und Isolde' and 'Die Meistersinger'
were written and performed before 'Siegfried' and 'Goetterdaemmerung.'
Wagner took the main incidents of his drama from the old Norse sagas,
principally from the two Eddas, but in many minor points his tale varies
from that of the original authorities. Nevertheless he grasped the
spirit of the myth so fully, that his version of the Nibelung story
yields in harmony and beauty to that of none of his predecessors. There
is one point about the Norse mythology which is of the utmost importance
to the proper comprehension of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen.' The gods of
Teutonic legend are not immortal. In the Edda the death of the gods is
often mentioned, and distinct reference is made to their inevitable
downfall. Behind Valhalla towers the gigantic figure of Fate, whose
reign is eternal. The gods rule for a limited time, subject to its
decrees. This ever-present idea of inexorable doom is the guiding idea
of Wagner's great tragedy. Against the inevitable the gods plot and
scheme in vain.
The opening scene of 'Das Rheingold' is in the depths of the Rhine.
There, upon the summit of a rock, lies the mysterious treasure of the
Rhine, the Rhine-gold, guarded night and day by the three Rhine-maidens
Wellgunde, Woglinde, and Flosshilde, who circle round the rock in an
undulating dance, joyous and light-hearted 'like troutlets in a pool.
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