Nietzsche, Wagner and the Philosophy of Pessimism

Download or read book Nietzsche, Wagner and the Philosophy of Pessimism written by Roger Hollinrake and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nietzsche’s relationship with Wagner has long been a source of controversy and has given rise to a number of important studies, including this major breakthrough in Nietzsche scholarship, first published in 1982. In this work Hollinrake contends that the nature and extent of the anti-Wagnerian pastiche and polemic in Thus Spake Zarathustra is arguably the most important factor in the association between the two. Thus Wagner, as the purveyor of a particular brand of Schopenhauerian pessimism, is here revealed as one of the principle sources – and targets – of Zarathustra. Whilst addressed primarily to students of German Literature, this book will also be of interest to musicians, philosophers and students of the history of culture and ideas.