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The path of Wagner’s Wotan
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
The path of Wagner’s Wotan
SubTitle
German idealism, Wagner’s prose writings, and the idea of moral progress
Name
(type = personal)
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Guhl-Miller
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Solomon R.
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1980-
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Solomon Guhl-Miller
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author
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Johnson
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Douglas
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Douglas Johnson
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Advisory Committee
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chair
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Grave
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Floyd
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Floyd Grave
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Advisory Committee
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
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(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Kirkman
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(type = given)
Andrew
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Andrew Kirkman
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Advisory Committee
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Grey
NamePart
(type = given)
Thomas
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Thomas Grey
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name
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NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
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NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
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(authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre
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theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
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2012
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2012-01
CopyrightDate
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2012
Place
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xx
Language
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(authority = ISO639-2b);
(type = code)
eng
Abstract
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One central question which has plagued studies of Wagner’s Ring for over a century is “What philosophy does the Ring espouse?” “Is the Ring Feuerbachian or Schopenhauerian?” is a question that has been echoed in works by some of the most famous scholars of Wagner, including Theodor Adorno and Carl Dahlhaus. But by searching for the philosophy only in the different versions of Brünnhilde’s farewell we ignore the overall moral-philosophical progression which leads to their respective end-points, espoused not only by both philosophers but by their predecessors as well. Rather than asking the either/or question, this study examines the philosophical tradition of the Enlightenment and German Idealism to identify a moral-philosophical progression that was common to the writings of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, and ultimately, Wagner. The first part of this study elucidates the four stages of this progression (leading from selfish living to self-sacrifice) and describes its various manifestations prior to Wagner. The remaining parts of the study examine Wagner’s own presentation of this “Moral Progression” (as I shall call it). The second part analyzes his prose writings up to and through the composition of the Ring libretti. The final part deals with his use of the progression in the Ring libretti and the music of the Ring with a particular focus on the character of Wotan and the music associated with him. Prior to my analysis of the Ring itself, the final part traces the shifts in Wotan’s character from the early drafts of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre to the final version of the Ring, showing his development from Byronic hero, to Faustian figure, and finally, to embodying the four stages of the Moral Progression itself through his character development over the course of the four Ring operas. If the Ring has a central message, then, it is to be found in Wotan’s re-enactment of the moral life advocated by Wagner and his philosophical predecessors.
Subject
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Topic
Music
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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ETD_3806
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electronic resource
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
vii, 646 p. : music
Note
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Ph.D.
Note
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Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = vita)
Includes vita
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Solomon R. Guhl-Miller
Subject
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(type = personal)
Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883--Criticism and interpretation
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
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Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Literary works
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
(type = personal)
Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Ring des Nibelungen
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000064135
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TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
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NjNbRU
Identifier
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doi:10.7282/T3639NR4
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder
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Name
FamilyName
Guhl-Miller
GivenName
Solomon
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
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2012-01-07 05:38:47
AssociatedEntity
Name
Solomon Guhl-Miller
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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2013-12-09
DateTime
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2014-05-31
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after May 31, 2014.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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