Dramatic Technique and Meaning in Wagner's Ring

This book stands out from other books about Wagner’s great work, Der Ring des Nibelungen because it discusses the Ring as a drama – an aspect that hitherto has been largely neglected. It outlines some of the key features of drama as a medium, and shows how these are relevant to the construction and the meaning of the Ring, and how failure to consider them has led to misconceptions which need to be corrected. It analyses in depth the action of the four dramas that make up the Ring, and shows how they contribute to the overall meaning of the tetralogy. The book relates the Ring to the plays of Shakespeare and the Greek tragedians, whom Wagner greatly admired. It also has a short final chapter showing how key features of dramatic technique can also be seen in another of Wagner’s works, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The book challenges many of the assumptions that lie behind previous discussions of the Ring and offers significant new perspectives to its readers.