As the Met Opera kicks off three complete "Ring" cycles - which each run about 15 hours in length - we pose a poetic challenge to our listeners. Summarize Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle in the length of a haiku.
Reminder: A haiku is a 17-syllable poem that's separated into lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. Host John Schaefer composed this haiku about the "Ring" cycle as an example:
"The Lord Of The Rings / is a greedy ugly dwarf / but he sure can sing"
Leave your haiku in the comments section below - or, you can tweet your haiku to us using the hashtag #ringhaiku. Or, email it to us at soundcheck@wnyc.org. We might read your haiku on the air!
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Comments [106]
River gold brought high
Emboldens gods so human -
Fires cleanse fierce cycle.
Rhyme but no reason?
Have you SEEN Act Three; Siegfried??
Pompous Wagnerphile!
Correct version of a previous haiku:
Lov' sucks, power fails
and only greed will remain
So what's the use?
Lov' sucks, power fails
and only greed will remain
so what's the use of it all?
Sorry. Syllables
correctly counted, years and
centuries not so.
Amended haiku below:
Late Romantic kitsch!
Orfeo, three centuries
later, come to this?
seems kinda cynical to schedule the ring for passover, eh?
Gold fire-fight. No kiss?
Music music everywhere --
Not a note to miss!
Gold fire-fight. No kiss?
Music music everywhere--
And not a note to miss!
Why love Wagner's Ring?
Who uses teutonic lore
To say less with more?
if something sparkling
calls you from the river’s bed
cancel all your plans.
MeadeHall confusion!
Rheingold beer instead of meade
Loki has struck again!
Late Romantic kitsch!
Orfeo, two centuries
later,come to this?
Gold found. Bro kills bro.
Wotan's kids beget heroes.
Betrayed! Sea wins gold.
#ringhaiku.
A Ring For Every Finger!
Through epic struggle
we sit stunned and numb
twiddling opposing thumbs!
The ring is stolen
Grandson is slain, ring retrieved
The gods reign endeth
Not exactly a haiku, but definitely a distillation of The Ring Cycle...
http://www.pl115.org/ring-cycle
Gods, rings, theft, love, sex,
Incest, Betrayal, Revenge,
Close your eyes, you’re dead.
Twilight of the Gods
Wagnerian fantasies
all begin with gold
Perfect love I saw
And chased round and round and round
But grasp I could not
Teutonic breastplates
diaphragmatic breathing
oh please shoot me now
Love and curse, one ends./
One is great, one is greater./
One will conquer all.
Wotan and Fricka
Could've used some counseling.
(And a contractor.)
Fafner and Fasolt
The One Percent has hired you:
get paid in advance!
The Ring lost and found
Wagner’s gods rage until dawn
Ravish us to death.
When I fell asleep
My wife took my hand and pressed
Never did I wake
Absolute power
Corrupting all it touches.
Fire burns, love prevails.
Maidens swim in Rhine
Woton's follies end the world
Maidens swim again
Oh, if Freud were there
No immolation needed
To quell these troubles
Oh, if Freud were there
No immolation needed
To quell these troubles
Aryan fallin'
Hard on for Mormon hottie
Underwear model
I wouldn't disgrace
the loveliness of Haiku
with darkness of heart
Dream house of the gods
Crumbles to dust and ashes,
Civil suit pending.
No need for lyrics
Leitmotifs tell the story
Renounced love is death
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRGIueOFuo&feature=share
Sage of Frankfurt's gold
kills Nietzsche deader, Nazi.
Ich bin ein Bayreuth.
Steal gold, no love, greed.
No fear, kill dragon, find love.
Cheat, death, gold in Rhine.
Four nights of the Ring --
the music is heavenly;
oh, my sore rear end!
Socialist fable,
Said Shaw. But Gunther's disguise
Turns it into farce.
(Correction of the one below)
Socialist fable,
Said Shaw. Gunther's disguise
Turns it into farce.
There once was a dwarf
From Nantucket. Oops! Wagner's
Not fit for haiku.
Debussy called it
Gorgeous sunset, not a dawn.
Four-night sunset, Claude?
Rheingold, Walküre,
Siegfried, Götterdämmerung.
Too easy? Sorry!
Some prefer Verdi.
For Aryan apocalypse,
You can't beat Wagner.
Gold stolen. Ring made.
Ring swiped. Curse. Fat lady sings.
Gods die. Man survives?
Hot gold
Cold wet maidens
Woman trapped in ring of fire
Gods die.
Ring lost, young hero
Pierces ring of fire, finds love,
Dies, takes gods with him.
Proto-Nazi creep's
Evil dwarf starts Ring rolling
Down long hill to doom.
My Latest Wagner Ring Cycle Haiku:
Mein Beir is Reingold,
Der Drei Beir; I get Reingold
To Make Me Ein Ring.
A Ring, as usual
Drives the power-hungry mad
This time women star
Gold, incest, heroes, death
If you thought hobbits were cool
Check out Brünnhilde
Bad man steals some gold
The gods can’t fix the mess
Solve it Katniss-style
The gold is stolen —
and fifteen hours later
it comes home again.
Exquisite moments
Pressed flow'rs in the pages of
tedious half-hours
Hey, Rhine maidens, this
Could have been avoided, if
You'd shtupped that damn dwarf
Pompous Norse myths from
egocentric composer,
lifetime listening
That long E flat chord
Depicting the Rhein must end
Sorry, Wotan et al.
Heldentenors' lust
Brünnhilde's daddy issues
Dwarves can't buy me love
A Leitmotif here
Another Leitmotif there
Fifteen hours to go
Is Wagner's grand scheme
Spengler's pessimism or
Schopenhauer's Will?
Old man god steals gold
But love is stronger than death
Even of the gods
Gold ring shines in Rhine
Siegfried breaks the fiery ring
Heaven and earth burn
"Not all at once but / break up the Ring Cycle / to savor Wagner"
The Machine creaks loud.
Needs WD-40.
We wish they had some.
Rheingold theft jolts Sky.
Kith and kin fight for each love....
Dusk of Gods dawns us.
Ugh, that theme again?
Gotta catch the last train home.
Tell me what I missed.
Bad golden ring
Screws up everything
Down go gods.
Dwarf steals gold from maids
All hell breaks loose for Wotan
Oops! Started a fire.
Rheingold! Rheinesgold!
The ring is a sucker's bet
End well: this will not
Wotan knows about
Brunnhild's pyro tendencies
Still gives her a match
Fricka nags Wotan
About his bastard daughter
Oops! Bye bye walhall
Worst hero ever
Loses ring & dies on wife
Time for some fireworks
Er...
God's glory hunts his OWN ends
Gold maidens shriek Thief
God’s glory hunts his end
All vanquished come twilight
When asked what I do
After a long day at work
"Write Wagner haikus"
doesn't everyone?
Rhine Maidens, a dwarf,
Two giants, Gods, Valkyries,
Mortals vie for gold
Wotan stole a ring
In the end was it worth it?
Vahalla destroyed
Had the Rhine Maidens
stored all their gold at the Fed
We'd have Vahalla
A god steals a ring
but's taken by some giants
Sounds like Goldman Sachs
Valhalla to Earth
Drama encircles ev'ry
ethereal note!
Weia! Waga! Au!
Ho-jo-to-ho! Hei-a-ha!
Hei-a-ho! Hoi-ho!
(Rhinemaidens, Mime,
Valkyries,
Siegfried, Hagen)
Don't worry Wotan;
Your daughter returned the gold;
Rest well, now, O god!
Wotan stole the gold
Walsungs, Valkyries, Siegfried
All the gods must die.
Sacred, yet condemned,
All would risk love for power,
To have the great Ring.
Mix some strings and brass
Add a big pinch of incest
Bake 'till your ass hurts
Oh-joy-too-hollow:
Gods warring for power-ring
Burn down their castle.
Lots of Sturm und Drang
Valk'ries take you for a ride
By the scenic route.
Ladies! When your man
Takes your ring and hoes around:
BURN THE WHOLE WORLD DOWN.
Stolen gold builds a bridge.
All's betrayed, men take over.
Götterdämmerung.
And one for each opera...
E flat, F, A Flat
B Flat and C leitmotif
Rhinemaidens rejoice
Brother and sister
incest, valkyries and swords
'hilde naps in fire
Hero finds the sword
slays the dragon and hears birds
are we sure he's sane?
Rheinfährt, a warning
Hagan does not fool around
Thus twilight of gods
And bonus:
Been sitting all night
another three nights await
patience is a virtue
A ring. A dragon.
A dwarf. Shrieking valkyries.
Interminable.
Gloomy German pens
Elaborate prequel to
'What's Opera, Doc?'
Wagner's long epic
just like all other operas
everyone will die
Magic gold breeds hate
They all want to rule the world
This will end in tears
Swelling winds and brass
Wait: isn't that the love theme
That's played in Star Wars?
Rheinfährts and a March
Leitmotifs abound tonight
Wagala weia!
Herr Wagner himself
could not sit through his cycle;
Sixteen hours long.
An opera goes here:
Ladies in big horn'ed hats
Two operas follow.
Circuitous route
Through Dick's long-winded operas
Hai-ya-ho-ta-ho!
Wotan sows wild oats
And they come back to haunt him
Valhalla in flames
For gold ring, lost love
Free Will? Godly Illusion
Cleanse, Fire! HO-YO-TO!
Woton's Lust Demands
Gold Ring from Nibelung dwarf
The heavens aflame
Music for the gods
Tales of magic and monsters
Chime the rise of men
gods covet gold ring
treachery abounds worldwide
sad senseless lessons
Cursed gold and incest
Give Siegfried the evil ring
Bruhnhilde burns all
One dwarf's lust for gold
The one-eyed man's master plan
The Twilight of Gods.
Three chicks guarding gold
It didn't turn out so well
Who's idea was that?
Three maidens jewelry
Love, strife, monologues, and c’mon --
Baby light my fire
Three maidens jewelry
Love, strife, monologues, and c’mon --
Baby light my fire
Fifteen hours long / heaven in musical form/ but, gosh!, must I pee!
Golden ring does shine
The fate of gods and of men
that of love and war.
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