What can that be
That shines so bright?
What a ray streams
From the ash-tree's stem!
My eyes that saw not
See the bright flash;
Gay as laughter it gleams.
How the radiant light
Illumes my heart!
Is it the look
That lingered behind,
Yonder clinging,
When forth from the hall
The lovely woman went?

[From this point the fire gradually goes out.

Darkly the shadows
Covered my eyes,
Till her shining glance
Over me gleamed,
Bringing me warmth and day.
Gay and splendid
The sun appeared,
And blissfully circled
With glory my head—
Till by the hills it was hid.

[The fire flickers up faintly again.

But once more, ere it set,
Bright it shone upon me,
And the ancient ash-tree's stem
Was lit by its golden glow.
The splendour passes,
The light grows dim,
Shadowy darkness
Falls and enshrouds me;
Deep in my bosom's fastness
Glimmers still faintly the flame!

[The fire goes out altogether. Total darkness. The door of the bed-chamber opens noiselessly. Sieglinde comes out in a white garment and advances softly but quickly towards the hearth.

SIEGLINDE

Art asleep?

SIEGMUND [Joyfully surprised.

Who steals this way?

SIEGLINDE [With stealthy haste.

'Tis I: listen to me!
In sleep profound lies Hunding;
The draught that I mixed him I drugged.
Use to good purpose the night!

SIEGMUND [Ardently interrupting.

Thou here, all is well!

SIEGLINDE

I have come to show thee a weapon;
O couldst thou make it thine!
I then might call thee
First among heroes,
For only by him
Can it be won.
O hearken: heed what I tell thee!
Here Hunding's kinsmen
Sat in the hall,
Assembled to honour his wedding.
He took as his wife,
Against her will,
One who was bartered by thieves.
Sad I sat there
Through their carousing.
A stranger entered the hall,
An old and grey-coated man.
So slouched was his hat
That one of his eyes was hidden;
But the other flashed
So that all feared it:
Overwhelming
Its menace they found;
I alone
Suffered, when looked on,
Sweet pain, sad delight,
Sorrow and solace in one.
On me glancing,
He scowled at the others,
As he swung a sword in his hands.
This sword he plunged
In the ash-tree's stem,
To the hilt driving it home.
The weapon he gains in guerdon
Who draws it from its place.
Though sore they struggled,
Not one of the heroes
Could win the weapon for his;
Coming, going,
The guests essayed it,
The strongest tugged at the steel;
Not an inch it stirred in the stem;
In silence yonder it cleaves.
I knew then who he was
That in sorrow greeted me.
I know too
Now for whom
The sword was stuck in the tree.
O might I to-day
Find here the friend
Brought from afar
By a woman's woe!
Then all I have suffered
In sorrow untold,
All scorn and all shame
In anger endured—
All would avenged be,
Sweetly atoned for—
Regained fully
The good I had lost;
For mine I should win
All I had wept for,
Could I but find the dear friend,
And clasp him close in my arms!

SIEGFRIED [Embracing Sieglinde with passionate ardour.

Dear woman, that friend
Holds thee at last,
Both woman and sword are his.
Here in my breast
Burns hot the oath
That welds us twain into one.
For all that I sought
I see now in thee,
In thee all
That once failed me I find.
Thou wert despised,
My portion was pain;
I was an outlaw,
Dishonoured wert thou;
Sweet revenge beckons,
Bids us be joyful;
I laugh
From sheer fulness of joy,
Holding thee, love, in my arms thus,
Feeling the beat of thy heart!

[The outer door swings open.

SIEGLINDE [With a start of alarm tears herself away.

Ha, who went? Who entered there?

[The door remains open. Outside a glorious spring night. The full moon shines in, throwing its bright light on the pair, so that they can suddenly see one another quite plainly.

SIEGMUND [In soft ecstasy.

No one went—
But one has come:
Laughing the spring
Enters the hall!

[He draws Sieglinde with tender force on to the couch, so that she sits beside him. The moon shines more and more brightly.

Winter storms have yielded
To May's sweet moon,
And mild and radiant
Sparkles the spring.
On balmy breezes
Light and lovely,
Weaving wonders,
Soft she sways.
Through field and forest
She is breathing;
Wide and open
Laughs her eye;
When blithe the birds are singing
Sounds her voice;
Fragrant odours
She exhales;
From her warm blood blossom flowers
Welcome and joyous.
Shoot and bud,
They wax by her aid.
With tender weapons armed,
She conquers the world.
Winter and storm yield
To the strong attack.
No wonder that, beaten boldly,
At last the door should have opened,
Which, stubborn and stiff,
Was keeping her out.
To find her sister
Hither she came;
By love has spring been allured;
Within our bosoms
Buried she lay;
Now glad she laughs to the light.
The bride who is sister
Is freed by the brother;
In ruin lies
What held them apart.
Loud rejoicing,
They meet and greet;
Lo! Love is mated with spring!

SIEGLINDE

Thou art the spring
That I used to pine for,
When pinched by the winter frost;
My heart hailed thee friend
With bliss and with fear,
When thy first glance fell on me sweetly
All I had seen appeared strange;
Friendless were my surroundings;
I never seemed to have known
Any one who came nigh.
Thee, however,
Straightway I knew,
And I saw thou wert mine
When I beheld thee:
What I hid in my heart,
All I am,
Clear as the day
Dawned to my sight
Like tones to the ear
Echoing back,
When, upon my frosty desert,
My eyes first beheld a friend.

[She hangs enraptured on his neck, and looks him close in the face.

SIEGMUND [Transported.

O rapture most blissful!
Woman most blest!

SIEGLINDE [Close to his eyes.

O let me, closer
And closer clinging,
Discern more clearly
The sacred light
That from thine eyes
And face shines forth,
And so sweetly sways every sense!

SIEGMUND

The May-moon's light
Falls on thy face
Framed by masses
Of waving hair.
What snared my heart
'Tis easy to guess:
My gaze on loveliness feasts.

SIEGLINDE

[Pushing the hair back from his brow, regards him with astonishment.

How broad and open
Is thy brow!
Blue-branching the veins
In thy temples entwine.
I hardly can endure
My burden of bliss.—
Of something I am reminded:—
The man I first saw to-day
Already I have seen!

SIEGMUND

A dream of love
I too recall;
I saw thee there
And yearned for thee sore!

SIEGLINDE

The stream has shown me
My imaged face—
Again I see it before me;
As in the pool it arose
It is reflected by thee.

SIEGMUND

Thine is the face
I hid in my heart.

SIEGLINDE [Quickly averting her gaze.

O hush! That voice!
O let me listen!
These tones as a child
Surely I heard—
But no! I heard the sound lately,
When, calling in the wood,
My voice re-echoing rang.

SIEGMUND

To sweet and melodious
Music I listen!

SIEGLINDE [Gazing into his eyes again.

And ere now thy glowing
Eye have I seen:
The old man whose glance
Solaced my grief,
When he greeted me had that eye—
I knew him
Because of his eye,
And almost addressed him as father.

[After a pause.

Art thou Wehwalt in truth?

SIEGMUND

If dear to thee,
Wehwalt no more;
My sway is o'er bliss not sorrow!

SIEGLINDE

And Friedmund does not
Fit with thy fortunes.

SIEGMUND

Choose thou the name
Thou wouldst have me be known by:
Thy choice will also be mine!

SIEGLINDE

The name of thy father was Wölfe?

SIEGMUND

A wolf to the fearful foxes!
But he whose eye
Shone with the brightness
Which, fairest one, shines in thine own,
Was named—Wälse of old.

SIEGLINDE [Beside herself.

Was Wälse thy father,
And art thou a Wälsung?—
Stuck was for thee
His sword in the stem?—
Then let my love call thee
What it has found thee;
Siegmund
Shall be thy name.

SIEGMUND [Springs up.

Siegmund call me
For Siegmund am I!
Be witness this sword
I grasp without shrinking!
That I should find it
In sorest need
Wälse foretold.
I grasp it now!
Love the most pure
In utmost need,
Passionate love,
Consuming desire
Burning bright in my breast,
Drive to deeds and death!
Nothung! Nothung!
That, sword, is thy name.
Nothung! Nothung!
Conquering steel!
Show me thy sharp
And sundering tooth:
Come forth from thy scabbard to me!

[He draws the sword with a violent effort from the stem of the tree and shows it to the amazed and enraptured Sieglinde.

Siegmund the Wälsung
Thou dost see!
As bride-gift
He brings thee this sword;
With this he frees
The woman most blest;
He bears thee
From the house of his foe.
Far from here
Follow thou him:
Forth to the laughing
House of the spring;
Thy shield be Nothung, the sword,
When Siegmund is captive to love!

[He throws his arm round her so as to draw her forth with him.

SIEGLINDE [Delirious with excitement, tears herself
away and stands before him.

Art thou Siegmund
Standing before me,
Sieglinde am I
Who longed for thee;
Thy own twin-sister
As well as the sword thou hast
won!

[She throws herself on his breast.

SIEGMUND

Bride and sister
Be to thy brother—
So Wälsungs shall flourish for aye!

[He draws her to him with fervent passion. The curtain falls quickly.

[She pauses on a high peak, looks down into the gorge and calls back to Wotan.

I warn thee, Father,
See to thyself;
Stern the strife
That is in store:
Here comes Fricka, thy wife,
Drawn hither in her car by her rams,
Swinging the golden
Scourge in her hand!
The wretched beasts
Are groaning with fear;
And how the wheels rattle!
Hot she hastes to the fray.
Such strife as this
No strife is for me,
Though I love boldly waged
Strife 'twixt men.
The battle alone thou must brave;
I go; thou art left in the lurch!
Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Heiaha! Heiaha!
Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Heiaha! Heiaha!
Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Heiaha! Ha!

[She disappears behind the mountain peak at the side. Fricka, in a car drawn by a pair of rams, has driven up the gorge to the mountain ridge, where she suddenly stops, alights and strides angrily towards Wotan in the foreground.

WOTAN [Aside, when he sees Fricka approaching.

The usual storm!
The usual strife!
But I must act with firmness

FRICKA [Moderating her pace as she approaches, and
confronting Wotan with dignity.

All alone among the hills
I seek thee, where thou dost hide
Fearing the eyes
Of thy wife,
That help in need thou may'st promise.

WOTAN

Let Fricka tell
Her trouble in full.

FRICKA

I have heard Hunding's cry,
For vengeance calling on me;
As wedlock's guardian
I gave ear:
My word passed
To punish the deed
Of this impious pair
Who boldly wrought him the wrong.

WOTAN

Have this pair then
Done such harm,
Whom spring united in love?
'Twas love's sweet magic
That lured them on;
None pays for love's might to me.

FRICKA

How dull and how deaf thou wouldst seem!
As though thou wert not aware
That it is wedlock's
Holy oath
Profaned so rudely I grieve for.

WOTAN

Unholy
Hold I the bond
That binds unloving hearts;
Nor must thou
Imagine that I
Will restrain by force
What transcends thy power;
For where bold natures are stirring
I urge them frankly to strife.

FRICKA

Deeming thus laudable
Wedlock's breach,
Pray babble more nonsense
And call it holy
That shame should blossom forth
From bond of a twin-born pair!
I shudder at heart,
My brain reels and whirls.
Sister embraced
As bride by the brother—
Who has ever heard
Of brother and sister as lovers?

WOTAN

Thou hearest it now!
Be taught by this
That a thing may be
Which has never befallen before.
That those two are lovers
Thou must admit;
So take advice and be wise!
Thy blessing surely
Will bring to thee gladness,
If thou wilt, laughing on love,
Bless Siegmund and Sieglinde's bond.

FRICKA [With a burst of deep indignation.

Then nothing to thee
Are the gods everlasting
Since the wild Wälsungs
Won thee for father?
I speak plainly—
Is that thy thought?
The holy and high
Immortals are worthless;
And all that once
Was esteemed is thrown over;
The bonds thou didst bind
By thyself now are broken;
Heaven's hold
Is loosed with a laugh,
That this twin-born pair, unimpeded,
The fruit of thy lawless love,
May in wantonness flourish and rule!
But why wail over
Wedlock and vows,
Since by thee the first they are scorned!
The faithful wife
Betrayed at each turn,
Lustfully longing
Wander thy glances;
Thine eyes scan
Each hollow and height
As thy fickle fancy allures thee,
While grief is gnawing my heart.
Heavy of soul
I had to endure it,
When to the fight
With the graceless maidens
Born out of wedlock,
Forth thou hast fared;
For, thy wife still holding in awe,
Thou didst give her as maids
The Valkyrie band
To obedience bound,
Even Brünnhilde, bride of thy Wish.
But now that new names
Afford thee new pleasure,
And Wälse, wolfish, in
Forests has wandered;
Now that to bottomless
Shame thou hast stooped,
And a pair of mortals
Hast vilely begotten—
Now thy wife at the feet
Of whelps of a wolf thou dost fling!
Come finish thy work!
Fill the cup full!
Mock and trample now the betrayed one!

WOTAN [Quietly.

Thou couldst not learn,
Though I might teach thee;
To thee there is nothing plain
Till day has dawned on the deed,
Wonted things
Thou alone canst conceive,
Whereas my spirit broods
On things not yet brought forth.
Listen, woman!
Some one we need,
A hero gods have not shielded,
And who is not bound by their law.
So alone
Were he fit for the deed
Which no god can accomplish,
Yet which must be done for the gods.

FRICKA

With sayings dark
Thou fain wouldst deceive me!
What deed by hero
Could be accomplished
That was beyond the strength of the gods,
By whose grace alone he is strong?

WOTAN

Then his own heart's courage
Counts not at all?

FRICKA

Who breathed their souls into men?
Who opened their eyes, that they see?
Behind thy shield
Strong they appear;
With thee to goad them,
Upward they strive;
Those men that thou praisest,
'Tis thou who spurrest them on.
With falsehoods fresh
Thou wouldst fain delude me,
With new devices
Thou wouldst evade me;
Thou shalt not shelter
The Wälsung from me;
He lives only through thee,
And is bold through thee alone.

WOTAN [With emotion.

He grew unaided
In grievous distress;
My shield sheltered him not.

FRICKA

Then shield him not to-day;
Take back the sword
That thou hast bestowed.

WOTAN

The sword?

FRICKA

Yes, the sword,
The magic sword
Sudden and strong
That thou gavest to thy son.

WOTAN [Unsteadily.

Nay, Siegmund won it
Himself in his need.

[From here Wotan's whole attitude expresses an ever-deepening uneasiness and gloom.

FRICKA [Continuing passionately.

Both conquering sword
And the need came from thee.
Wouldst thou deceive me
Who, day and night,
At thy heels follow close?
For him thou didst strike
The sword in the stem;
Thou didst promise him
The peerless blade.
Canst thou deny
That thy cunning it was
Which led him where it lay hid?

[Wotan makes a wrathful gesture. Fricka goes on more and more confidently as she sees the impression produced on him.

The Gods
Do not battle with bondsmen;
The free but punish transgressors.
Against thee, my peer,
Have I waged war,
But Siegmund is mine as my slave.

[Another violent gesture from Wotan, who then seems to succumb to the feeling of his own powerlessness.

Shall thy eternal
Consort obey one
Who calls thee master
And bows as thy slave?
What! Shall I be
Despised by the basest,
To the lawless a spur,
A scoff to the free?
My husband cannot desire me,
A goddess, to suffer such shame!

WOTAN [Gloomily.

What then wouldst thou?

FRICKA

Shield not the Wälsung.

WOTAN [In a muffled voice.

His way let him go.

FRICKA

Thou wilt grant him no aid,
When to arms the avenger calls?

WOTAN

I shield him no more.

FRICKA

Seek not to trick me;
Look in my eyes!
The Valkyrie turn from him too.

WOTAN

The Valkyrie free shall choose.

FRICKA

Not so; she but acts
To accomplish thy will;
Give order that Siegmund die.

WOTAN [After a violent internal struggle.

Nay, slay him I cannot,
He found my sword!

FRICKA

Remove thou the magic,
And shatter the blade:
Swordless let him be found.

BRÜNNHILDE [Is heard calling from the heights.

Heiaha! Heiaha!
Hojotoho!
Heiaha! Heiaha!
Heiohotojo! Hotojoha!

FRICKA

Thy valorous maiden comes;
Shouting, hither she rides.

WOTAN

For Siegmund I called her to horse.

[Brünnhilde appears with her horse on the rocky path to the right. When she sees Fricka she stops abruptly and, during the following, slowly and silently leads her horse down the path. She then puts it in a cave.

FRICKA

By her shield to-day
Be guarded the honour
Of thy eternal spouse!
Derided by men,
Shorn of our power,
Perish and pass would the Gods
If thy valiant maid
Avenged not to-day
My sacred and sovereign right.
The Wälsung falls for my honour.
Does Wotan now pledge me his oath?

WOTAN [Throwing himself on to a rocky seat in terrible dejection.

Take the oath!

[Fricka strides towards the back, where she meets Brünnhilde and halts for a moment before her.

FRICKA

Warfather
Waits for thee;
He will instruct thee
How the lot is decreed!

[She drives off quickly.

BRÜNNHILDE

[Comes forward anxious and wondering to Wotan, who leaning back on his rocky seat, is brooding gloomily.

Ill closed
The fight, I fear;
Fricka laughs at the outcome!
Father, what news
Hast thou to tell me?
Sad thou seemest and troubled!

WOTAN [Dropping his arm helplessly and sinking his head on his breast.

By self-forged fetters
I am bound,
I, least free of all living!

BRÜNNHILDE

I know thee not thus:
What gnaws at thy heart?

WOTAN

[His expression and gestures working up, from this point, to a fearful outburst.

O sacrilege vile!
O grievous affront!
Gods' despair!
Gods' despair!
Infinite wrath!
Woe without end!
Most sorrowful I of all living!

BRÜNNHILDE

[Alarmed, throws her shield, spear and helmet from her and kneels with anxious affection at his feet.

Father! Father!
Tell me what ails thee?
With dismay thou art filling thy child!
Confide in me
For I am true;
See, Brünnhilde begs it!

[She lays her head and hands with tender anxiety on his knees and breast.

WOTAN

[Looks long in her eyes, then strokes her hair with involuntary tenderness. As if coming out of a deep reverie, he at last begins, very softly.

What if, when uttered,
Weaker it made
The controlling might of my will?

BRÜNNHILDE [Very softly.

To Wotan's will thou speakest
When thou speakest to me?
What am I
If I am not thy will?

WOTAN [Very softly.

What never to any was spoken
Shall be unspoken now and for ever.
Myself I speak to,
Speaking to thee.

[In a low, muffled voice.

When young love grew
A waning delight,
'Twas power my spirit craved;
By rash and wild
Desires driven on,
I won myself the world.
Unknown to me
Dishonest my acts were;
Bargains I made
Wherein hid mishap,
Craftily lured on by Loge,
Who straightway disappeared.
Yet I could not leave
Love altogether;
When grown mighty still I desired it.
The child of night,
The craven Nibelung,
Alberich, broke from its bond.
All love he forswore,
And procured by the curse
The gleaming gold of the Rhine,
And with it measureless might.
The ring that he wrought
I stole by my cunning,
But I restored it not
To the Rhine;
It paid the price
Of Walhall's towers:
The home the giants had built me,
From which I commanded the world.
She who knows all
That ever was,
Erda, the holy,
All-knowing Wala,
Warned me touching the ring:
Prophesied doom everlasting.
Of this doom I was fain
To hear further,
But silent she vanished from sight.
Then my gladness of heart was gone,
The god's one desire was to know.
To the womb of the earth
Downward then I went:
By love's sweet magic
Vanquished the Wala,
Troubled her wisdom proud,
And compelled her tongue to speak.
Tidings by her I was told;
And with her I left a fair pledge:
The world's wisest of women
Bore me, Brünnhilde, thee.
With eight sisters
Fostered wert thou,
That ye Valkyries
Might avert the doom
Which the Wala's
Dread words foretold:
The gods' ignominious ending.
That foes might find us
Strong for the strife,
Heroes I got ye to gather.
The beings who served us
As slaves aforetime,
The men whose courage
Aforetime we curbed:
Who through treacherous bonds
And devious dealings
Were bound to the gods
In blindfold obedience—
To kindle these men
To strife was your duty,
To drive them on
To savage war,
That hosts of dauntless heroes
Might gather in Walhall's hall.

BRÜNNHILDE

And well filled surely thy halls were;
Many a one I have brought.
We never were idle,
So why shouldst thou fear?