Scotty_Tradewind
Well-Known Member
Parsival... or is it 'Gentleman' JT?
Parsival,that brings back memories for me.
One of Wagners greatest works, in more ways than one, it was my 'punishment' in the 1970's. My then brother-in-law chose to have his stag night at the ROH to see this epic. After some 4 or more hours of sleep I ventured with my younger brother-in-law to escape to Ronnie Scotts for the rest of the night and early hours.
see.....
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210528
The primary purpose of the drama is to convey to the audience the importance of compassion -- which is the only valid basis for morality, according to Schopenhauer. This teaching was accepted by his disciple Richard Wagner. It is through compassion for the suffering of other beings that the fool acquires wisdom and becomes a sage. It is through the perfection of wisdom that he is able to bring salvation.
There is a Schopenhauerean metaphor in the work that is so explicit that anyone who has read Schopenhauer will have no difficulty in detecting it. Her name is Kundry. She represents, on one level, the human predicament in relation to what Buddhists call samsara: the cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth. In the first act she is wild and restless, striving for (but unable to find) a balm that will cure suffering; as Kundry confesses, she can help nobody -- not even herself. By the third act, however, Kundry is calm, peaceful, quiet; she has almost escaped from her cyclic existence by the denial of the will. Here is the metaphysical message of Parsifal: stop striving, deny the will, accept that suffering is an inevitable part of life and that desires can never be fully satisfied.
Certain passages in Wagner's text clearly were intended to communicate Schopenhauer's summary of his ethics. This is the ethical message of the work: injure no one; on the contrary, help others as much as possible. This formula becomes, in Parsifal, the teaching of the Grail.
Fair enough, but did he have to make it so dull and soooo long?
Parsival,that brings back memories for me.
One of Wagners greatest works, in more ways than one, it was my 'punishment' in the 1970's. My then brother-in-law chose to have his stag night at the ROH to see this epic. After some 4 or more hours of sleep I ventured with my younger brother-in-law to escape to Ronnie Scotts for the rest of the night and early hours.
see.....
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210528
The primary purpose of the drama is to convey to the audience the importance of compassion -- which is the only valid basis for morality, according to Schopenhauer. This teaching was accepted by his disciple Richard Wagner. It is through compassion for the suffering of other beings that the fool acquires wisdom and becomes a sage. It is through the perfection of wisdom that he is able to bring salvation.
There is a Schopenhauerean metaphor in the work that is so explicit that anyone who has read Schopenhauer will have no difficulty in detecting it. Her name is Kundry. She represents, on one level, the human predicament in relation to what Buddhists call samsara: the cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth. In the first act she is wild and restless, striving for (but unable to find) a balm that will cure suffering; as Kundry confesses, she can help nobody -- not even herself. By the third act, however, Kundry is calm, peaceful, quiet; she has almost escaped from her cyclic existence by the denial of the will. Here is the metaphysical message of Parsifal: stop striving, deny the will, accept that suffering is an inevitable part of life and that desires can never be fully satisfied.
Certain passages in Wagner's text clearly were intended to communicate Schopenhauer's summary of his ethics. This is the ethical message of the work: injure no one; on the contrary, help others as much as possible. This formula becomes, in Parsifal, the teaching of the Grail.
Fair enough, but did he have to make it so dull and soooo long?