"
The second, discordant, stage of love is embodied in _Tannhaeuser_,
composed when Wagner was twenty-nine years of age. There is probably no
modern work of art in which the mediaeval feeling of dualism in the
scheme of the universe has been expressed with greater pathos. We see
man tossed between heaven and hell, between the worshipped saint and
seductive sensuality, impersonated by a she-devil. A man of the Middle
Ages would have recognised in this work the tragedy of his soul. Wagner
had planned the opera before he had really reached the second period,
under the title of _Der Venusberg_ ("The Mountain of Venus"), and in
this earlier version the purely sexual occupied a far more prominent
place, probably in closer conformity with the old legend. For here
Tannhaeuser returns to Venus unsaved and defying the eternal values,
determined to renounce a higher life and give himself up to the pleasure
of the senses for all eternity. This idea was retained in a later
version up to the decisive final turn; the purely spiritual love for
Elizabeth eventually overcomes the unrestrained instinct.
Pages:
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492