The Lord of the Rings vs. The Ring of the Nibelung - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com
Both Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung
are based on ancient Norse legends. Not many people are aware of this
connection between the two Rings. Since almost everyone knows the plot
of The Lord of the Rings, I will tell the story of The Ring of the Nibelung and explain the similarities and differences as they come.
Now, before I get started, I want to make it clear that these two
Rings were never meant to be identical copies of each other. Tolkien
departed greatly from the original legends and Wagner added some
shocking and, at times, unnecessary elements. However, both are
enjoyable and both have an almost fanatical following.
The story of The Ring of the Nibelung
begins in the river Rhine. Three mermaids called Rhinemaidens are
guarding a lump of gold. This gold is magic and if anyone melts it down
into a ring, he or she will be able to rule the world. A dwarfish
character called Alberich, from the race of the Nibelungs, steals the
gold (Smeagol stole the ring after it was found in the river) and, in
his lust for power (like Sauron), forges the ring. He then enslaves the
other Nibelungs and begins building an army which will take over the
world (similar to Saruman's army of Orcs).
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