Adolf Hitler, operatically inspired,
revered Norse eschatology -
the circle-cycle of the Ring
forged of magic metal
rendering all-powerful the one who held it.
(Understanding Wagner, so he said,
was vital to comprehending
National Socialism.)
But Hitler fell, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe
shattered swords, his trolling U-boats
vanquished, body cindered on a fire of gasoline.
How badly he misunderstood
his dear myth’s prophecy!
The magic metal, light-Uranium,
existed. Jewish scientists -
mere “dwarves” in his race-hierarchy -
helped forge it into hollow spheres,
rings of pent cosmic energy
which conferred all-power to
his enemies instead.
Had Hitler proffered love to Jews
with high priority to forging light-Uranium,
Plutonium, named after elder gods,
he could have held the Ring.
Instead he burned to ash in twilight, trapped
within dark confines of the myth
whose shining end he never understood.
Of all the interpretations of the "Der Ring des Nibelungen" I have never heard the ring described as an atomic bomb. So to say Hitler died because he did not understand that, is to understate that he was a bit off the mark. Had the poem stayed with merely being a humorous interpretation of Hitler's confounding interpretation of the myth by reinterpreting it in terms of atomics and Jews it could have had good comic value (which maybe the writer meant), however, it seems to lose it humorous tone towards the end and thus it lost me.
Best,
dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
Of all the interpretations of the "Der Ring des Nibelungen" I have never heard the ring described as an atomic bomb. So to say Hitler died because he did not understand that, is to understate that he was a bit off the mark.
Thanks! Glad to see the basic idea was understood, and flattered to think it original with me.
Had the poem stayed with merely being a humorous interpretation of Hitler's confounding interpretation of the myth by reinterpreting it in terms of atomics and Jews it could have had good comic value (which maybe the writer meant), however, it seems to lose it humorous tone towards the end and thus it lost me.
Best,
dale
To distill this part of your critique into an actionable editing project, it appears that my attempted speculative-ironic tone is subject to misinterpretation. Am I serious? As serious as it's possible to be with alternate history. Mainly ironic, though, and that seems to have failed. How, then, to change the poem so it won't be misconstrued as humor, losing the reader?
Adolf Hitler, operatically inspired, (the word "operatically" here doesn't make sense to me)
revered Norse eschatology - ("eschatology" makes sense but it seems unnecessary to use such a word most people won't know.)
the circle-cycle of the Ring (Not sure what cycle you'd be referring to here, circle/cycle used together feels redundant)
forged of magic metal (this line works)
rendering all-powerful the one who held it. (Are you referring to Sauron or Hitler? What ring?)
(Understanding Wagner, so he said,
was vital to comprehending
National Socialism.)
But Hitler fell, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe (Translation?)
shattered swords, his trolling U-boats (Trolling U-Boats is clever)
vanquished, body cindered on a fire of gasoline. (I like this line, wonderful imagery)
How badly he misunderstood
his dear myth’s prophecy! (Alluding to Hitler's failure in a creative way I take it.)
The magic metal, light-Uranium, (Nuclear bombs?)
existed. Jewish scientists -
mere “dwarves” in his race-hierarchy -
helped forge it into hollow spheres,
rings of pent cosmic energy
which conferred all-power to
his enemies instead.
Had Hitler proffered love to Jews
with high priority to forging light-Uranium,
Plutonium, named after elder gods,
he could have held the Ring. (Again, What ring?)
Instead he burned to ash in twilight, trapped
within dark confines of the myth
whose shining end he never understood. (I like this last stanza, very descriptive)
Overall I'm not sure what to make of it, you're talking about the holocaust and WWII, and the atom bombs correct? However the "ring" whatever it is doesn't make sense. The title works, since you added radioactive/nuclear materials.
@Andrias - Not sure how proper a proceeding this is, but if this poem were to appear in a far-future textbook on dead languages, it might be annotated as follows. Glad you liked the parts you indicated, but I hesitate to include explanations.
Wagnerian Physics
Adolf Hitler, operatically(1) inspired,
revered Norse eschatology -
the circle-cycle of the Ring(2)
forged of magic metal(3)
rendering all-powerful the one who held it.
(Understanding Wagner(1), so he said,
was vital to comprehending
National Socialism(4).)
But Hitler fell, Wehrmacht(5) and Luftwaffe(6)
shattered swords(7), his trolling U-boats(8)
vanquished, body cindered on a fire of gasoline.
How badly he misunderstood
his dear myth’s prophecy!
The magic metal, light-Uranium(9),
existed. Jewish scientists(10) -
mere “dwarves” in his race-hierarchy -
helped forge it into hollow spheres(11),
rings of pent cosmic energy
which conferred all-power to
his enemies instead.
Had Hitler proffered love to Jews
with high priority to forging light-Uranium,
Plutonium(12), named after elder gods(13),
he could have held the Ring.
Instead he burned to ash in twilight, trapped
within dark confines of the myth
whose shining end(14) he never understood.
Footnotes:
(1) Hitler was inspired by Richard Wagner's operatic cycle, "The Ring of the Nibelungen" loosely based on Norse mythology.
(2) The Ring of the Nibelungen
(3) The Rheingold
(4) National Socialism, abbreviated Naziism (from Nazi, the shortened name of Hitler's totalitarian-socialist-nationalist-racist political party)
(5) The Hitler-era German defense department, particularly the army
(6) The Hitler-era German air force, politically independent of the Wehrmacht (supra)
(7) Refers to an incident in the Ring mythos when a sword was shattered by Wotan, leader of the gods.
(8) From U-boot, contraction of the German word for submarine (Untersee-boot)
(9) The fissionable isotope of Uranium, U235, is lighter than the non-fissionable U238.
(10) For example, Albert Einstein, who was forced to leave Europe by Hitler's persecutions
(11) Once very secret shapes required to produce uncontrolled nuclear fission
(12) An artificial element with properties similar to U235
(13) These elements were named after the planets Uranus and Pluto [then considered a planet], which were in turn named after gods of the Roman pantheon.
(14) At the end of the Ring cycle (some versions/interpretations) the Ring returns to the Rhine, the Norse gods depart, and the world is renewed.
Hi Duke - I haven't read your subscripts. I like the idea overall, although one could argue that Heisenberg, Bohr, Max Born, Otto Hahn, Fermi were non- Jewish and two of them were involved in the Manhattan project, one worked on the Nazi bomb.
By trashing quantum mechanics generally as a Jewish invention (if I remember correctly), the Nazis probably turned off a lot of physicists including the non Jews who'd have otherwise stayed.
There was a huge number of Jews on the Manhattan project, so your point is still valid, of course. And hey, gold and silver (or at least silver) were used in large amounts for making the bus bars for the project so it all fits!
Non-practicing atheist
