Even the later portions of the Ring include scenes in which naturalism is sacrificed for musical effect. In turning to myth and legend for his dramatic materials, Wagner was seeking themes of lasting symbolic value. In this respect he was pursuing a direction already established by Carl Maria von Weber and Heinrich Marschner, both of whom had treated themes involving supernatural forces. Particularly Wagnerian was the theme of fall and redemption, which recurs in all of the mature works except the comic Die Meistersinger . Although Wagner varied his treatment in each opera, the means of redemption is typically some combination of increased awareness on the part of the flawed male protagonist and the love and instinctive vision of his female counterpart.
Death is celebrated as a step to transfiguration.
The philosophical overtones of many of his themes, together with the symbolic nature of much of the dialogue and action, have made Wagner's operas a favorite subject for modern psychological analysis and experimental productions. The extreme position formulated by Wagner made him the center of controversy even in his own lifetime. Such contemporaries as Berlioz, Brahms , and Verdi were impressed by his works but did not fully understand them. His influence on the mainstream of musical development was above all through Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal . Extreme chromaticism, irregular resolution of dissonance, and continuously shifting key centers make Tristan a pivotal work in a progression leading ultimately to the atonality of Arnold Schoenberg and his followers.