n's. Again, we have his spear, the symbol of his power, identified
with another theme, on which Wagner finally exercises his favorite
device by making it break and fail, cut through, as it were, by the
tearing sound of the theme identified with the sword, when Siegfried
shivers the spear with the stroke of Nothung. Yet another theme
connected with Wotan is the Wanderer music which breaks with such a
majestic reassurance on the nightmare terror of Mimmy when Wotan appears
at the mouth of his cave in the scene of the three riddles. Thus not
only are there several Wotan themes, but each varies in its inflexions
and shades of tone color according to its dramatic circumstances. So,
too, the merry ham tune of the young Siegfried changes its measure,
loads itself with massive harmonies, and becomes an exordium of the most
imposing splendor when it heralds his entry as full-fledged hero in the
prologue to Night Falls On The Gods. Even Mimmy has his two or three
themes: the weird one already described; the little one in triple
measure imitating the tap of his hammer, and fiercely mocked in the
savage laugh of Alberic at his death; and finally the crooning tune in
which he details all his motherly kindnesses to the little foundling
Siegfried. Besides this there are all manner of little musical blinkings
and shamblings and whinings, the least hint of which from the orchestra
at any moment instantly brings Mimmy to mind, whether he is on the stage
at the time or not.

In truth, dramatic characterization in music cannot be carried very far
by the use of representative themes. Mozart, the greatest of all masters
of this art, never dreamt of employing them; and, extensively as they
are used in The Ring, they do not enable Wagner to dispense with the
Mozartian method. Apart from the themes, Siegfried and Mimmy are still
as sharply distinguished from one another by the character of their
music as Don Giovanni from Leporello, Wotan from Gutrune as Sarastro
from Papagena. It is true that the themes attached to the characters
have the same musical appropriateness as the rest of the music: for
example, neither the Valhalla nor the spear themes could, without the
most ludicrous incongruity, be used for the forest bird or the unstable,
delusive Loki; but for all that the musical characterization must
be regarded as independent of the specific themes, since the entire
elimination of the thematic system from the score would leave the
characters