Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde [Hardcover]

Roger Scruton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2003

A tale of forbidden love and inevitable death, the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde recounts the story of two lovers unknowingly drinking a magic potion and ultimately dying in one another's arms. While critics have lauded Wagner's Tristan and Isolde for the originality and subtlety of the music, they have denounced the drama as a "mere trifle"--a rendering of Wagner's forbidden love for Matilde Wesendonck, the wife of a banker who supported him during his exile in Switzerland.

Death-Devoted Heart explodes this established interpretation, proving the drama to be more than just a sublimation of the composer's love for Wesendonck or a wistful romantic dream. Scruton boldly attests that Tristan and Isolde has profound religious meaning and remains as relevant today as it was to Wagner's contemporaries. He also offers keen insight into the nature of erotic love, the sacred qualities of human passion, and the peculiar place of the erotic in our culture. His argument touches on the nature of tragedy, the significance of ritual sacrifice, and the meaning of redemption, providing a fresh interpretation of Wagner's masterpiece. Roger Scruton has written an original and provocative account of Wagner's music drama, which blends philosophy, criticism, and musicology in order to show the work's importance in the twenty-first century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For those who wish to wrestle with religious and philosophical interpretations, Scruton provides ample grist and excellent analysis of the story and music."- The Opera Journal

"This is possibly the best book ever written about Tristan und Isolde from the dramatic as well as the musical point of view. Scruton does not leave a historical stone unturned without dusting and exposing it to the sunlight of his extraordinary power of synthesis. And his musical analysis is phenomenal. Even if you do not read music it has plenty to grab your attention. I would buy it just for the chapter on chivalry and courtly love, for instance, in which Scruton's clairy of narration and research put many other writers to shame.... A book the reader does not want to put down."--Eduardo Benarroch

"A wide-ranging analysis of Richard Wagner's influential tribute to romantic love, by a noted philosopher and social critic.... Scruton's status as an unusually accomplished polymath is apparent throughout Death-Devoted Heart, as he moves easily from topic to topic, discussing such figures as Geoffrey Chaucer, Arthur Schopenhauer, Plato, Chretien de Troyes, and Claude Levi-Strauss with equal aplomb." -- Magill's Literary Annual 2005

"Roger Scruton's Death-Devoted Heart is an elegant, erudite exploration attempting to make the operagoer 'get' this piece and, by extension, Wagner's intent in all of his Gesamtkunstwerk ventures. Scruton shows us that traditional dismissals of Tristan's brief plot as Wagner's self-therapy in the wake of a frustrated love affair miss the point...Scruton is more interested in our understanding the philosophical substrate...devoting chapters to Wagner's conceptions of love, sacrifice and redemption, and ritual."--Books & Culture

"Scruton has prepared his brief with care. Medieval chivalric romance, Kantian ethics, anthropological mythography, and musicological close-work propel his sinuous but lucid argument...Death-Devoted Heart is a breathtaking book."--First Things

"If you're going to disagree with Nietzsche, Plato and Schopenhauer, you'd best have your own house in order. Roger Scruton certainly does."--Opera News

"Fascinating book, conveying his ideas so effectively he almost makes us hear the music...Scruton is full of engaging subtleties...written with his customary clarity and concision."--The Sunday Telegraph

"Impressive new book...this distinguished, characteristically contentious book sets a standard of Wagnerian commentary which it would be a great relief to see other writers attempting to follow."--The Spectator

"Roger Scruton's book is a deep and daunting study of the most important single composition in Western music, Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde...Scruton's examination is highly original and delves into aspects which have seldom been explored so rigorously."--The Independent

About the Author

Roger Scruton is a well-known writer, philosopher, journalist, and a former professor of philosophy. He has written more than thirty books on aesthetics, culture, and politics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Third printing edition (December 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195166914
• ISBN-13: 978-0195166910
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Wagner

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars deep waters, May 9, 2010

By 

Tom Blair "dancer" (Perkiomenville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde (Hardcover)

I have spent 3 months with this book. It has been worth it, but it has been sometimes very hard work. The subtitle "Sex and The Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde" is alluring. Let me add that so deep is Rodger Scruton's analysis, that there are parts of this book you will not understand without a graduate degree in music. After a while I found myself simply skimming about 1/3 of the middle.

One thing is clear - Wagner is a genius without comparison in the world of opera, classical composition, and European philosophy. His penetrating musical motiffs providing the background for this ancient pre-Chivalric tale of constrained un-requited erotic passion.

Professor Scruton analyses the historical and philosophical undercurrents of the ancient world within the story itself - and the high German Romantic world of the 19th century. As well Scruton delves into the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his impact upon Wagner.

I cannot imagine that Tristan and Isolde has ever been analysed so thoroughly as here in Professor Scruton's penetrating study. Be prepared for some serious academic study - that rewards with an appreciation of Wagner and Tristan & Isolde in a way never possible before this wonderful book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding essay, December 17, 2008

By 

Márcio Bezerra (Wellington, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death-Devoted Heart: Sex and Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding essay written by one of Britain's foremost conservative philosophers. Although his conservative bias sometimes blurs the lines between criticism and moral (political?) activism, the book offers a unique perspective on Wagner and is saturated with historical information. A must for any Wagnerian.