Chapter 5

Sieglinde prepares Hunding's draught for the night

What can that beThat shines so bright?What a ray streamsFrom the ash-tree's stem!My eyes that saw notSee the bright flash;Gay as laughter it gleams.How the radiant lightIllumes my heart!Is it the lookThat lingered behind,Yonder clinging,When forth from the hallThe lovely woman went?

[From this point the fire gradually goes out.

Darkly the shadowsCovered my eyes,Till her shining glanceOver me gleamed,Bringing me warmth and day.Gay and splendidThe sun appeared,And blissfully circledWith glory my head—Till by the hills it was hid.

[The fire flickers up faintly again.

But once more, ere it set,Bright it shone upon me,And the ancient ash-tree's stemWas lit by its golden glow.The splendour passes,The light grows dim,Shadowy darknessFalls and enshrouds me;Deep in my bosom's fastnessGlimmers still faintly the flame!

[The fire goes out altogether. Total darkness. The door of the bed-chamber opens noiselessly. Sieglinde comes out in a white garment and advances softly but quickly towards the hearth.

SIEGLINDEArt asleep?SIEGMUND[Joyfully surprised.Who steals this way?SIEGLINDE[With stealthy haste.'Tis I: listen to me!In sleep profound lies Hunding;The draught that I mixed him I drugged.Use to good purpose the night!SIEGMUND[Ardently interrupting.Thou here, all is well!SIEGLINDEI have come to show thee a weapon;O couldst thou make it thine!I then might call theeFirst among heroes,For only by himCan it be won.O hearken: heed what I tell thee!Here Hunding's kinsmenSat in the hall,Assembled to honour his wedding.He took as his wife,Against her will,One who was bartered by thieves.Sad I sat thereThrough their carousing.A stranger entered the hall,An old and grey-coated man.So slouched was his hatThat one of his eyes was hidden;But the other flashedSo that all feared it:OverwhelmingIts menace they found;I aloneSuffered, when looked on,Sweet pain, sad delight,Sorrow and solace in one.On me glancing,He scowled at the others,As he swung a sword in his hands.This sword he plungedIn the ash-tree's stem,To the hilt driving it home.The weapon he gains in guerdonWho draws it from its place.Though sore they struggled,Not one of the heroesCould win the weapon for his;Coming, going,The guests essayed it,The strongest tugged at the steel;Not an inch it stirred in the stem;In silence yonder it cleaves.I knew then who he wasThat in sorrow greeted me.I know tooNow for whomThe sword was stuck in the tree.O might I to-dayFind here the friendBrought from afarBy a woman's woe!Then all I have sufferedIn sorrow untold,All scorn and all shameIn anger endured—All would avenged be,Sweetly atoned for—Regained fullyThe good I had lost;For mine I should winAll I had wept for,Could I but find the dear friend,And clasp him close in my arms!SIEGFRIED[Embracing Sieglinde with passionate ardour.Dear woman, that friendHolds thee at last,Both woman and sword are his.Here in my breastBurns hot the oathThat welds us twain into one.For all that I soughtI see now in thee,In thee allThat once failed me I find.Thou wert despised,My portion was pain;I was an outlaw,Dishonoured wert thou;Sweet revenge beckons,Bids us be joyful;I laughFrom sheer fulness of joy,Holding thee, love, in my arms thus,Feeling the beat of thy heart!

[The outer door swings open.

SIEGLINDE[With a start of alarm tears herself away.Ha, who went? Who entered there?

[The door remains open. Outside a glorious spring night. The full moon shines in, throwing its bright light on the pair, so that they can suddenly see one another quite plainly.

SIEGMUND[In soft ecstasy.No one went—But one has come:Laughing the springEnters the hall!

[He draws Sieglinde with tender force on to the couch, so that she sits beside him. The moon shines more and more brightly.

Winter storms have yieldedTo May's sweet moon,And mild and radiantSparkles the spring.On balmy breezesLight and lovely,Weaving wonders,Soft she sways.Through field and forestShe is breathing;Wide and openLaughs her eye;When blithe the birds are singingSounds her voice;Fragrant odoursShe exhales;From her warm blood blossom flowersWelcome and joyous.Shoot and bud,They wax by her aid.With tender weapons armed,She conquers the world.Winter and storm yieldTo the strong attack.No wonder that, beaten boldly,At last the door should have opened,Which, stubborn and stiff,Was keeping her out.To find her sisterHither she came;By love has spring been allured;Within our bosomsBuried she lay;Now glad she laughs to the light.The bride who is sisterIs freed by the brother;In ruin liesWhat held them apart.Loud rejoicing,They meet and greet;Lo! Love is mated with spring!SIEGLINDEThou art the springThat I used to pine for,When pinched by the winter frost;My heart hailed thee friendWith bliss and with fear,When thy first glance fell on me sweetlyAll I had seen appeared strange;Friendless were my surroundings;I never seemed to have knownAny one who came nigh.Thee, however,Straightway I knew,And I saw thou wert mineWhen I beheld thee:What I hid in my heart,All I am,Clear as the dayDawned to my sightLike tones to the earEchoing back,When, upon my frosty desert,My eyes first beheld a friend.

[She hangs enraptured on his neck, and looks him close in the face.

SIEGMUND[Transported.O rapture most blissful!Woman most blest!SIEGLINDE[Close to his eyes.O let me, closerAnd closer clinging,Discern more clearlyThe sacred lightThat from thine eyesAnd face shines forth,And so sweetly sways every sense!SIEGMUNDThe May-moon's lightFalls on thy faceFramed by massesOf waving hair.What snared my heart'Tis easy to guess:My gaze on loveliness feasts.SIEGLINDE

[Pushing the hair back from his brow, regards him with astonishment.

How broad and openIs thy brow!Blue-branching the veinsIn thy temples entwine.I hardly can endureMy burden of bliss.—Of something I am reminded:—The man I first saw to-dayAlready I have seen!SIEGMUNDA dream of loveI too recall;I saw thee thereAnd yearned for thee sore!SIEGLINDEThe stream has shown meMy imaged face—Again I see it before me;As in the pool it aroseIt is reflected by thee.SIEGMUNDThine is the faceI hid in my heart.SIEGLINDE[Quickly averting her gaze.O hush! That voice!O let me listen!These tones as a childSurely I heard—But no! I heard the sound lately,When, calling in the wood,My voice re-echoing rang.SIEGMUNDTo sweet and melodiousMusic I listen!SIEGLINDE[Gazing into his eyes again.And ere now thy glowingEye have I seen:The old man whose glanceSolaced my grief,When he greeted me had that eye—I knew himBecause of his eye,And almost addressed him as father.

[After a pause.

Art thou Wehwalt in truth?SIEGMUNDIf dear to thee,Wehwalt no more;My sway is o'er bliss not sorrow!SIEGLINDEAnd Friedmund does notFit with thy fortunes.SIEGMUNDChoose thou the nameThou wouldst have me be known by:Thy choice will also be mine!SIEGLINDEThe name of thy father was Wölfe?SIEGMUNDA wolf to the fearful foxes!But he whose eyeShone with the brightnessWhich, fairest one, shines in thine own,Was named—Wälse of old.SIEGLINDE[Beside herself.Was Wälse thy father,And art thou a Wälsung?—Stuck was for theeHis sword in the stem?—Then let my love call theeWhat it has found thee;SiegmundShall be thy name.SIEGMUND[Springs up.Siegmund call meFor Siegmund am I!Be witness this swordI grasp without shrinking!That I should find itIn sorest needWälse foretold.I grasp it now!Love the most pureIn utmost need,Passionate love,Consuming desireBurning bright in my breast,Drive to deeds and death!Nothung! Nothung!That, sword, is thy name.Nothung! Nothung!Conquering steel!Show me thy sharpAnd sundering tooth:Come forth from thy scabbard to me!

[He draws the sword with a violent effort from the stem of the tree and shows it to the amazed and enraptured Sieglinde.

Siegmund the WälsungThou dost see!As bride-giftHe brings thee this sword;With this he freesThe woman most blest;He bears theeFrom the house of his foe.Far from hereFollow thou him:Forth to the laughingHouse of the spring;Thy shield be Nothung, the sword,When Siegmund is captive to love!

[He throws his arm round her so as to draw her forth with him.

SIEGLINDE[Delirious with excitement, tears herselfaway and stands before him.Art thou SiegmundStanding before me,Sieglinde am IWho longed for thee;Thy own twin-sisterAs well as the sword thou hastwon!

[She throws herself on his breast.

SIEGMUNDBride and sisterBe to thy brother—So Wälsungs shall flourish for aye!

[He draws her to him with fervent passion. The curtain falls quickly.

A wild, mountainous spot. In the background a gorge rises from below to a high ridge of rocks, from which the ground slopes down again towards the front. Wotan, in full armour, carrying his spear. Before him Brünnhilde as a Valkyrie, also fully armed.

WOTANGo bridle thy steed,Valorous maid!Bitter strifeSoon will break forth;Brünnhilde, storm to the frayAnd cause the Wälsung to win!Hunding choose for himselfWhere to bide:No place in Walhall has he.So up and to horse!Haste to the field!BRÜNNHILDE[Ascends the height on the right, shoutingand springing from rock to rock.Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Hojoho!

"Siegmund the WälsungThou dost see!As bride-giftHe brings thee this sword"

[She pauses on a high peak, looks down into the gorge and calls back to Wotan.

I warn thee, Father,See to thyself;Stern the strifeThat is in store:Here comes Fricka, thy wife,Drawn hither in her car by her rams,Swinging the goldenScourge in her hand!The wretched beastsAre groaning with fear;And how the wheels rattle!Hot she hastes to the fray.Such strife as thisNo strife is for me,Though I love boldly wagedStrife 'twixt men.The battle alone thou must brave;I go; thou art left in the lurch!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Hojotoho! Hojotoho!Heiaha! Ha!

[She disappears behind the mountain peak at the side. Fricka, in a car drawn by a pair of rams, has driven up the gorge to the mountain ridge, where she suddenly stops, alights and strides angrily towards Wotan in the foreground.

WOTAN[Aside, when he sees Fricka approaching.The usual storm!The usual strife!But I must act with firmnessFRICKA[Moderating her pace as she approaches, andconfronting Wotan with dignity.All alone among the hillsI seek thee, where thou dost hideFearing the eyesOf thy wife,That help in need thou may'st promise.WOTANLet Fricka tellHer trouble in full.FRICKAI have heard Hunding's cry,For vengeance calling on me;As wedlock's guardianI gave ear:My word passedTo punish the deedOf this impious pairWho boldly wrought him the wrong.WOTANHave this pair thenDone such harm,Whom spring united in love?'Twas love's sweet magicThat lured them on;None pays for love's might to me.FRICKAHow dull and how deaf thou wouldst seem!As though thou wert not awareThat it is wedlock'sHoly oathProfaned so rudely I grieve for.WOTANUnholyHold I the bondThat binds unloving hearts;Nor must thouImagine that IWill restrain by forceWhat transcends thy power;For where bold natures are stirringI urge them frankly to strife.

Brünnhilde

FRICKADeeming thus laudableWedlock's breach,Pray babble more nonsenseAnd call it holyThat shame should blossom forthFrom bond of a twin-born pair!I shudder at heart,My brain reels and whirls.Sister embracedAs bride by the brother—Who has ever heardOf brother and sister as lovers?WOTANThou hearest it now!Be taught by thisThat a thing may beWhich has never befallen before.That those two are loversThou must admit;So take advice and be wise!Thy blessing surelyWill bring to thee gladness,If thou wilt, laughing on love,Bless Siegmund and Sieglinde's bond.FRICKA[With a burst of deep indignation.Then nothing to theeAre the gods everlastingSince the wild WälsungsWon thee for father?I speak plainly—Is that thy thought?The holy and highImmortals are worthless;And all that onceWas esteemed is thrown over;The bonds thou didst bindBy thyself now are broken;Heaven's holdIs loosed with a laugh,That this twin-born pair, unimpeded,The fruit of thy lawless love,May in wantonness flourish and rule!But why wail overWedlock and vows,Since by thee the first they are scorned!The faithful wifeBetrayed at each turn,Lustfully longingWander thy glances;Thine eyes scanEach hollow and heightAs thy fickle fancy allures thee,While grief is gnawing my heart.Heavy of soulI had to endure it,When to the fightWith the graceless maidensBorn out of wedlock,Forth thou hast fared;For, thy wife still holding in awe,Thou didst give her as maidsThe Valkyrie bandTo obedience bound,Even Brünnhilde, bride of thy Wish.But now that new namesAfford thee new pleasure,And Wälse, wolfish, inForests has wandered;Now that to bottomlessShame thou hast stooped,And a pair of mortalsHast vilely begotten—Now thy wife at the feetOf whelps of a wolf thou dost fling!Come finish thy work!Fill the cup full!Mock and trample now the betrayed one!

Fricka approaches in anger.

WOTAN[Quietly.Thou couldst not learn,Though I might teach thee;To thee there is nothing plainTill day has dawned on the deed,Wonted thingsThou alone canst conceive,Whereas my spirit broodsOn things not yet brought forth.Listen, woman!Some one we need,A hero gods have not shielded,And who is not bound by their law.So aloneWere he fit for the deedWhich no god can accomplish,Yet which must be done for the gods.FRICKAWith sayings darkThou fain wouldst deceive me!What deed by heroCould be accomplishedThat was beyond the strength of the gods,By whose grace alone he is strong?WOTANThen his own heart's courageCounts not at all?FRICKAWho breathed their souls into men?Who opened their eyes, that they see?Behind thy shieldStrong they appear;With thee to goad them,Upward they strive;Those men that thou praisest,'Tis thou who spurrest them on.With falsehoods freshThou wouldst fain delude me,With new devicesThou wouldst evade me;Thou shalt not shelterThe Wälsung from me;He lives only through thee,And is bold through thee alone.WOTAN[With emotion.He grew unaidedIn grievous distress;My shield sheltered him not.FRICKAThen shield him not to-day;Take back the swordThat thou hast bestowed.WOTANThe sword?FRICKAYes, the sword,The magic swordSudden and strongThat thou gavest to thy son.WOTAN[Unsteadily.Nay, Siegmund won itHimself in his need.

[From here Wotan's whole attitude expresses an ever-deepening uneasiness and gloom.

FRICKA[Continuing passionately.Both conquering swordAnd the need came from thee.Wouldst thou deceive meWho, day and night,At thy heels follow close?For him thou didst strikeThe sword in the stem;Thou didst promise himThe peerless blade.Canst thou denyThat thy cunning it wasWhich led him where it lay hid?

[Wotan makes a wrathful gesture. Fricka goes on more and more confidently as she sees the impression produced on him.

The GodsDo not battle with bondsmen;The free but punish transgressors.Against thee, my peer,Have I waged war,But Siegmund is mine as my slave.

[Another violent gesture from Wotan, who then seems to succumb to the feeling of his own powerlessness.

Shall thy eternalConsort obey oneWho calls thee masterAnd bows as thy slave?What! Shall I beDespised by the basest,To the lawless a spur,A scoff to the free?My husband cannot desire me,A goddess, to suffer such shame!WOTAN[Gloomily.What then wouldst thou?FRICKAShield not the Wälsung.WOTAN[In a muffled voice.His way let him go.FRICKAThou wilt grant him no aid,When to arms the avenger calls?WOTANI shield him no more.FRICKASeek not to trick me;Look in my eyes!The Valkyrie turn from him too.WOTANThe Valkyrie free shall choose.FRICKANot so; she but actsTo accomplish thy will;Give order that Siegmund die.WOTAN[After a violent internal struggle.Nay, slay him I cannot,He found my sword!FRICKARemove thou the magic,And shatter the blade:Swordless let him be found.BRÜNNHILDE[Is heard calling from the heights.Heiaha! Heiaha!Hojotoho!Heiaha! Heiaha!Heiohotojo! Hotojoha!FRICKAThy valorous maiden comes;Shouting, hither she rides.WOTANFor Siegmund I called her to horse.

[Brünnhilde appears with her horse on the rocky path to the right. When she sees Fricka she stops abruptly and, during the following, slowly and silently leads her horse down the path. She then puts it in a cave.

FRICKABy her shield to-dayBe guarded the honourOf thy eternal spouse!Derided by men,Shorn of our power,Perish and pass would the GodsIf thy valiant maidAvenged not to-dayMy sacred and sovereign right.The Wälsung falls for my honour.Does Wotan now pledge me his oath?WOTAN[Throwing himself on to a rocky seat in terrible dejection.Take the oath!

[Fricka strides towards the back, where she meets Brünnhilde and halts for a moment before her.

FRICKAWarfatherWaits for thee;He will instruct theeHow the lot is decreed!

[She drives off quickly.

BRÜNNHILDE

[Comes forward anxious and wondering to Wotan, who leaning back on his rocky seat, is brooding gloomily.

Ill closedThe fight, I fear;Fricka laughs at the outcome!Father, what newsHast thou to tell me?Sad thou seemest and troubled!WOTAN[Dropping his arm helplessly and sinking his head on his breast.By self-forged fettersI am bound,I, least free of all living!BRÜNNHILDEI know thee not thus:What gnaws at thy heart?WOTAN

[His expression and gestures working up, from this point, to a fearful outburst.

O sacrilege vile!O grievous affront!Gods' despair!Gods' despair!Infinite wrath!Woe without end!Most sorrowful I of all living!BRÜNNHILDE

[Alarmed, throws her shield, spear and helmet from her and kneels with anxious affection at his feet.

Father! Father!Tell me what ails thee?With dismay thou art filling thy child!Confide in meFor I am true;See, Brünnhilde begs it!

[She lays her head and hands with tender anxiety on his knees and breast.

WOTAN

[Looks long in her eyes, then strokes her hair with involuntary tenderness. As if coming out of a deep reverie, he at last begins, very softly.

What if, when uttered,Weaker it madeThe controlling might of my will?BRÜNNHILDE[Very softly.To Wotan's will thou speakestWhen thou speakest to me?What am IIf I am not thy will?

Brünnhilde slowly and silently leads her horse down the path to the cave

WOTAN[Very softly.What never to any was spokenShall be unspoken now and for ever.Myself I speak to,Speaking to thee.

[In a low, muffled voice.

When young love grewA waning delight,'Twas power my spirit craved;By rash and wildDesires driven on,I won myself the world.Unknown to meDishonest my acts were;Bargains I madeWherein hid mishap,Craftily lured on by Loge,Who straightway disappeared.Yet I could not leaveLove altogether;When grown mighty still I desired it.The child of night,The craven Nibelung,Alberich, broke from its bond.All love he forswore,And procured by the curseThe gleaming gold of the Rhine,And with it measureless might.The ring that he wroughtI stole by my cunning,But I restored it notTo the Rhine;It paid the priceOf Walhall's towers:The home the giants had built me,From which I commanded the world.She who knows allThat ever was,Erda, the holy,All-knowing Wala,Warned me touching the ring:Prophesied doom everlasting.Of this doom I was fainTo hear further,But silent she vanished from sight.Then my gladness of heart was gone,The god's one desire was to know.To the womb of the earthDownward then I went:By love's sweet magicVanquished the Wala,Troubled her wisdom proud,And compelled her tongue to speak.Tidings by her I was told;And with her I left a fair pledge:The world's wisest of womenBore me, Brünnhilde, thee.With eight sistersFostered wert thou,That ye ValkyriesMight avert the doomWhich the Wala'sDread words foretold:The gods' ignominious ending.That foes might find usStrong for the strife,Heroes I got ye to gather.The beings who served usAs slaves aforetime,The men whose courageAforetime we curbed:Who through treacherous bondsAnd devious dealingsWere bound to the godsIn blindfold obedience—To kindle these menTo strife was your duty,To drive them onTo savage war,That hosts of dauntless heroesMight gather in Walhall's hall.BRÜNNHILDEAnd well filled surely thy halls were;Many a one I have brought.We never were idle,So why shouldst thou fear?

Back to Index Next