Wagner as Poet, Prose Writer, Philosopher, and Revolutionary

More people know Wagner as a composer than a theorist or poet; fewer still are aware that he was also a music critic, a short-story writer, and something of a philosopher. Furthermore, Wagner powerfully influenced two of Central Europe’s most influential thinkers: Friedrich Nietzsche and Adolf Hitler. (One may doubt the quality of Hitler’s “thoughts” but, certainly, not their catastrophic impact.) The studies described below deal primarily or exclusively with the poetry and prose Wagner produced and the ideas he was associated with during his career.