I need not lay stress on the fact that at that time of his
life Wagner's own heart was the arena in which the conflict was fought
out; a work like _Tannhaeuser_ is not _made_, it is conceived in the
innermost soul of its creator. Every one of Wagner's great works bears
the unmistakable stamp of sincerity and intensity, while with Goethe, on
the other hand, it is not difficult to distinguish the genuine ones,
that is to say, those which were written under the pressure of a
compelling impulse, from those which owed their existence to the
intellect rather than to the soul.
_Tannhaeuser_ immortalises the adolescence of the European races of
mankind; the third stage is not even anticipated.
_Lohengrin_, the principal interest of which is other than erotic,
represents a transitional phase between the second and the third stage;
body and soul are no longer regarded as warring against each other; a
greater harmony beyond either is dimly divined. Lohengrin has set out
from a distant, transcendental kingdom to find earthly happiness in
Elsa's love--but he is doomed to disappointment.
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