THE CASE OF WAGNER

In The Case of Wagner Nietzsche provides a scathing critique of the music and philosophy of Richard Wagner whom he had previously admired. Nietzsche argues that Wagners music is overly sentimental and melodramatic and that it promotes a kind of false emotion that is ultimately harmful to the listener. He also criticizes Wagners philosophy which he sees as promoting a kind of passive nihilism that is in opposition to his own ideas about the affirmation of life. Nietzsches critique of Wagner is a reflection of his broader concerns about the direction of Western culture. He saw Wagner as embodying many of the negative qualities that he saw as prevalent in contemporary society such as a focus on individualism a lack of spiritual depth and an overemphasis on the material world.