Hebbel (and Darwin):

Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859; it was published in Germany in 1860.  Hebbel’s last play was Die Nibelungen (1862), he died in 1863; his works reflects some affinity with Hegel; his dramas in part tell the story of the development of spirit in history, the move towards a new synthesis. 

see above page 367- Hebbel (and Hegelian philosophy)

 

Goethian form (evolution): * see EndNote<A>

In the 1790s he rediscovered the human premaxilla & cited this as morphological evidence of humanity's connection to other mammals.  Studies in botany led him to conclude that nature, far for being static, was constantly changing (Metamorphosis of the Plants, 1790).  The idea of evolution emerges for Goethe from the observation of his own life.  His methodology was the intimate interaction of observer and observed, over time, as the experimenter's knowledge grows from his study of natural phenomena, so too grows capacity for inner awareness, insight, imagination, intuition & inspiration.  He grew to the realization to discover evolution, he must be in evolution as well.  Finally, late in his life he wrote:

“The ever-changing display of plant forms…years, awakens increasingly within me the notion: The plant forms which surround us were not all created at some given point in time and then locked into the given form, they have been given… a felicitous mobility and plasticity allowing them to grow and adapt themselves to many different conditions in many different places.”

Goethe -Story of My Botanical Studies (1831):

 

Aristotle (entelechy-idea):

word coined by Aristotle who in his Metaphysics  indicates he did not see things as matter in motion only, but also proposed that all things have their own aims or ends; a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality; full, complete reality; a work that is the proper end of a thing;

 

Zarathustra (utterances of): * see EndNote<B>

aka Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a philosophical novel in parable form by Nietzsche, composed in 4 parts written & published 1883-85; the fictitious travels and speeches of Zarathustra (founder of Zoroastrianism) who is Nietzsche speaking.

 

Ghosts (tragedy of): * see Endnote<C>

play by Ibsen, written 1881 & premiered 1882 (in Chicago, Illinois); scathing commentary on 19th-century morality; its subject matter (religion, venereal disease, incest, euthanasia) was controversial & drew heavy criticism.  It resets the tragedy paradigm; regular tragedy deals mainly with the unhappy consequences of breaking the moral code; Ghosts, deals with the consequences of not breaking it.

 

Ring of the Nibelungs (problems of):

Wagner’s epic series of 4 operas, the grand story of the struggles of gods, heroes & mythical creatures over the eponymous magic ring that grants domination over the entire world.  The drama continues through3 generations of protagonists all working to control the ring; this leads to a sequence of related problems (i.e. paying the Giants, stealing the ring, Albrecht’s hate, the contractual obligations of Wotan, justice, deception), each of the plays reviews the previous conundrum, & begins the unfolding of a new set of related complications; it all culminates in the final cataclysm of Götterdämmerung.

 

“Tristan": * see EndNote<D>

In 1857 Wagner was working on the Ring cycle; by June he had completed only the first 2 & decided to put the work aside to concentrate on a new idea: Tristan und Isolde, based on the Arthurian love story.  This composition was inspired by Schopenhauer & is widely acknowledged as one of the peaks of the operatic repertoire.  It was notable for Wagner's unprecedented use of chromaticism, tonal ambiguity, orchestral colour & harmonic suspension.  It is a milestone in the move away from common practice harmony & tonality & laid the groundwork for 20th century classical music.  Both Wagner's libretto style and music were profoundly influential on the symbolist poets of the late 19th & early 20th centuries.

 

Wagner (adherent of Schopenhauer):

Wagner was introduced to The World as Will and Representation in 1854; he would later call this the most important event of his life.  His personal circumstances (poor, without income, exiled from Germany & isolated from the German music community, in poor health, his wife increasingly depressed) made him an easy convert to Schopenhauer's philosophy, a pessimistic view of the human condition.  He would remain an adherent of Schopenhauer for the rest of his life.  Schopenhauer gave music the supreme role in the arts as a direct expression of the world's essence, that is blind & impulsive will.  This idea, the pre-eminence  of music, contradicted Wagner's view, expressed in "Opera and Drama" (1851).  This was an essay setting out his ideas on the ideal characteristics of opera.  In this book he raised the issue of how music could best unite disparate elements of the plot of a music drama.  His solution was the leitmotif technique which he called Hauptmotiv (principal motif).   He states music in opera had to be subservient to the drama.  After 1854, having read Schopenhauer, he would assign a more commanding role to music in his later operas, including the latter half of the Ring cycle, which he had yet to compose.  Aspects of Schopenhauer’s doctrine found their way into Wagner's subsequent libretti.

 

Nietzsche's breach with Wagner: * see EndNote<E>

Between 1868 and 1876 Nietzsche championed Wagner.  Both men shared great respect for the philosopher Schopenhauer.  Nietzsche believed that Wagner, who had created a grand cycle of operas that featured medieval Germanic heroes, might be able to create a new, modern myth to live by, a renewal of German paganism & an explicitly un-Christian perspective.  However, Nietzsche's actual exposure to Wagner's artistic circle at Bayreuth, in a newly unified Germany in 1876, convinced him the composer & his circle were simple German nationalists (which he abhorred).  Human, All Too Human (1878) was a reaction against the pessimism of both Schopenhauer & Wagner.  A decade later Nietzsche made his condemnation of Wagner explicit, citing the composers anti-Semitism, nationalism and Christian faith.

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Nietzsche ("Schopenhauer als Euieher"):

“Schopenhauer as an educator” is the title of a long essay by Nietzsche, written 1874, describes how the philosophic genius of Schopenhauer might bring on a resurgence of German culture.  He gave special attention to Schopenhauer's individualism, honesty & steadfastness as well as his cheerfulness, despite Schopenhauer's noted pessimism.  This essay along with 3 others was published as Untimely Meditations in 1876

 

Parsifal:

Wagner's final opera, (1882), written especially for his Bayreuth Festspielhaus & described in the score as a "festival play for the consecration of the stage"; uses a storyline suggested by the legend of the Holy Grail as well as elements of Buddhist renunciation suggested by Wagner's readings of Schopenhauer.  Schopenhauer deeply affected Wagner & his music; Parsifal can be interpreted as Wagner's last great espousal of Schopenhauer’s philosophy.  Parsifal can heal Amfortas and redeem Kundry because he shows compassion, which Schopenhauer saw as the highest form of human morality.  He displays compassion in the face of sexual temptation; Schopenhauer suggests the only escape from the ever-present temptations of human life is through negation of the Will, overcoming sexual temptation is a strong form of such negation.  Parsifal, with its emphasis on "compassion" is a follow-on to Tristan und Isolde, where Schopenhauer's influence is more obvious with its focus on "yearning".  Wagner originally considered including Parsifal as a character in act III of Tristan, but later rejected the idea.