Der Ring Des Nibelungen - Wagner's Ring and Tolkien's Ring

Wagner's Ring and Tolkien's Ring

J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings (1937-1949) shares elements with Der Ring des Nibelungen; however, Tolkien himself denied that he had been inspired by Wagner's work, saying that "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." Some similarities arise because Tolkien and Wagner both drew upon the same source material for inspiration, including the Völsungasaga and the Poetic Edda. However, several researchers posit Tolkien was also indebted to Wagner for some of the latter's original concepts, such as the ring giving its owner mastery of the world, the ring's inherently evil nature, its consequent corrupting influence upon the minds and wills of its possessors, and the necessity for its destruction so that the world can be redeemed.