of the loving woman [this is the basis both of Wotan’s relationship with Erda, and Siegfried’s relationship with Bruennhilde]; and this yearning is the creative moment (das dichtende Moment) of the Understanding. The necessary bestowal, the seed that only in the most ardent transports of Love can condense itself from his noblest forces [Wotan’s confession] – this procreative seed is the poetic Aim, which brings to the glorious loving woman, Music, the Stuff for bearing [as Wotan brings his confession to Bruennhilde, who imparts it in turn, feelingly, through music, to Siegfried].” [531W-{50-1/51} Opera and Drama: PW Vol. II, p. 236]
Next, we find Wagner suggesting that by ascending from the word, the dramatic verse, to operatic song, i.e., to feeling, the poet frees his subject matter of the burden of historico-social and state-religious relations and conditions. This is precisely what Bruennhilde says Wotan has done by imparting his confession of the burden of his history and nature to her, so that what he thought, she feels:
[P. 256] “… he [the Poet] has … freed his subject-matter, as much as he could, from a burdensome surrounding of historico-social and state-religious relations and conditionings. But the poet has never heretofore been able to bring this to such a point, that he could impart his subject unconditionally to the Feeling and nothing else, -- any more than he has brought his vehicle of expression to a like enhancement; for this enhancement to the highest pitch of emotional utterance could only have been reached precisely in an ascension of the verse into the melody … .
[P. 263] “ … the Poetic Aim can only be realised through its complete transmission from the Understanding to the Feeling … .” [532W-{50-1/51} Opera and Drama: PW Vol. II, p. 256; p. 263]
And here, Wagner describes how Siegfried – who only feels what Bruennhilde says without understanding it conceptually – can fall heir to Wotan’s hoard of knowledge which Bruennhilde imparts to him, i.e., Wotan’s historical experience (the state at its “wisest”), as feeling:
[P. 204] “The State – taken at its wisest – thrusts upon us the experiences of History, as the plumb-line for our dealings; yet we can only deal sincerely, when through our Instinctive dealings themselves we reach experience; [P. 205] an experience taught us by communications can only be resultful for us, when by our instinctive dealings we make it over again for ourselves. Thus the true, the reasonable love of age [Wotan] toward youth [Siegfried] substantiates itself in this; that it does not make its own experiences the measure for youth’s dealings, but points it toward a fresh experience, and enriches its own thereby … .” [516W-{50-1/51} Opera and Drama: PW Vol. II, p. 204-205]
In the following extract Wagner discloses the logic behind Wotan’s confession to Bruennhilde, through which his thought became feeling, in which we find a parallel to Wotan in Wagner’s “poet,” who, thanks to Bruennhilde, is able to impart his aim (redemption through a free hero) from his understanding to Bruennhilde’s feeling. And here also we discover one reason why Wotan told Bruennhilde that through his confession to her, what he does not say in words will remain forever unspoken, i.e., an unspoken (i.e., a musical) secret:
[P. 206] “ … Understanding [Wotan] justified by Feeling [Siegfried’s loving relationship with his muse Bruennhilde] – no longer entangled in the feelings of this unit, but upright towards Feeling in general – is the Vernunft. As Vernunft the Understanding is so far [P. 207] superior to the Feeling
