Der Ring Des Nibelungen - Title

Title

Wagner's title is most literally rendered in English as The Ring of the Nibelung. The Nibelung of the title is the dwarf Alberich, and the ring in question is the one he fashions from the Rhinegold. The title therefore denotes "Alberich's Ring". The "-en" suffix in "Nibelungen" can occur in either a genitive singular or a plural, though the article "des" preceding it makes clear that the singular is here intended: hence "Nibelungen" is occasionally mistaken as a plural, though the Ring of the Nibelungs (in German Der Ring der Nibelungen) is incorrect.

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