Win a digital radio or a boxed set of CDs of 'The Ring' for your synopsis of 'The Ring' in 100 words or less. The best synopses will be displayed on this page as an inspiration.
(from Radio 3's
Music Matters).
SYNOPSES
Sent in by Radio 3 listeners
The Rhinemaidens' gold is stolen by Alberich. He creates a ring, which he curses when it is stolen by Wotan, king of the gods. Wotan's son Siegmund loves his own sister Sieglinde and is killed by her husband. Their child Siegfried reforges his father's sword and slays the dragon Fafner to win the ring. Siegfried finds and loves the banished Valkyrie, Brünnhilde, but bewitched, betrays her. She reveals his weakness and he is killed. She returns the ring to the Rhine and rides into his funeral pyre, redeeming the world as Valhalla, home of the gods, burns to the ground.
by Andrew Charters (Winner)
The Rheinmaids in the river sing,
A dwarf their gold does gain
And forms thereof a magic ring,
Which brings the world much pain:
Two siblings loved too truly,
It was incest, they knew,
Their deaths came soon and cruelly,
The sword was split in two.
But Brünnhild saved their baby
And risked her father's ire,
So Wotan, driven crazy,
Imprisoned her in fire.
Siegfried, a strapping male,
Gained ring, and dragon met
Then breached Brünnhilde's jail -
A girl! The best thing yet!
With Brünnhilde forgotten
Siegfried and Gutrun wed,
But Brunnhild found this rotten.
Soon everyone was dead.
by Imogen Foxell (winner) Gods homeward headed,
Close relations wedded,
Auntie bedded,
Hero deaded.
By Robert Boot (winner) Authorities are anxious to trace: a devious dwarf wanted on charges of sexual harassment and world domination; a partially-sighted God observed handling stolen goods, also sought by the CSA; a large murderer, believed to be using the alias ‘F. Dragon’; a rampaging pyromaniac; any suppliers of narcotic apples; two incestuous siblings; a petulant teenager carrying a sword, possibly damaged; a forthright lady in armour with a vicious gang, warning, this is no man; one master forger; a talking bird; three aquatic prostitutes; three scheming royals. Members of the public should not approach these individuals who are considered extremely dangerous.
by Tam Pollard (winner) The Ring in Four Haiku
Das Rheingold:
Magic gold stolen
Project finished on schedule
God strikes bad bargain
Die Walkure:
Incest is punished
A Valkyrie intervenes
Now she pays the price
Siegfried:
Boy forges weapon
Kills dragon and retrieves Ring
Finds love at first sight
Gotterdammerung:
Hero tricked and slain
Heroine is betrayed too
It all ends in flames
by Graham Saxby (winner) Frustrated randy dwarf steals Rheingold and makes himself magic ring of power, but has it stolen by Wotan who has ripped off builders of Valhalla. Dwarf curses ring. Builders grab ring and commit fratricide. Wotan's illegitimate children get into incest, he is killed, cousin takes her away to give birth, but Wotan puts cousin to sleep in heated arena. Baby grows up killing dragons etc, finds and falls for auntie, then gets mixed up with toffs and betrays her. She plots his death, but remorsefully suicides, returning ring to the legitimate owners, and causing the end of the world.
by Mike Hobart Ageing magnate plunders gold from the orphan's fund to prop up his business empire, while his own kids turn to incest, and his favourite daughter gives up her pony to sleep rough and fall for a happy slapper. It all ends rather enjoyably in a bonfire his vanities as the gold price plunges.
by Robert Bernstein Rhinemaidens' spurned suitor Alberich renouncing love forges cursed ring from stolen gold, which Wotan obtains by trickery but has to pay for Valhalla to giants. Fafner kills fellow giant (curse already working), guards ring. Wotan plans to regain it through son Siegmund with sword Nothung but is forced to abandon Siegmund in battle, Valkyrie Brünnhilde, struck by his love for Sieglinde, disobeys Wotan and is awoken from deep sleep by hero Siegfried, who kills dragon Fafner, obtaining ring etc. He is tricked into marrying Gutrune and killed by Hagen (Alberich's son). Brünnhilde throws herself and ring into Rhine. World ends.
by Judith Willcox Gods, humans and dwarves
Fight over pieces of gold.
Redemption? Some hope.
by Douglas Lee Attempting The Ring synoptically
hearing the tetralogy analogically
sounds like candy: digital would be dandy.
by Malcolm Brown The main characters are Wotan, leader of the gods and his children Brünnhilde, Siegmund, Sieglinde and their son Siegfried and the action features their adventures with the magic objects the Ring, the sword Nothung, the helmet Tarnhelm and Wotan’s spear. Nearly everyone wants to kill someone else for various reasons and many succeed, and the cycle culminates in the fiery destruction of Valhalla, the palace of the gods: it’s not clear whether they had a good fire evacuation plan.
by Ian Goodacre Alberich renounces love to steal Rhinegold,forges omnipotent ring,Wotan steals ring to pay giants for Valhalla, Siegfried, orphaned son of incestuous union, kills giant turned dragon and gets ring, falls in love with Brünnhilde, Wotan's disowned daughter,seeks adventure abroad and is duped and killed by Alberich's son Hagen.Whole cast perishes except Rhinemaidens as old world order swept away by conflagration.
by Martin Spaull A Ring in a Day starts a trend
Which spasmodically grips with its blend:
Finny babes, dwarves & giants,
Daughter's brave non-compliance,
Clanking heroes, and bonfire to end.
by Mary Weston Much ado about 'Nothung'...
by Neil Cheshire Alberich (dwarf) steals Rhinegold off Rhinemaidens and forges the ring of power, plus Tarnhelm (gives invisibility and shapeshifting). Gods steal hoard from Alberich to pay giants for Valhalla. Ring Cursed. Giant Kills Brother and becomes Dragon. Siegmund meets Sieglinde (his sister), falls in love. They elope. Wotan (father) breaks Siegmund's sword. Brünnhilde (Wotan's daughter) trys to help. Siegmund killed by husband. Brünnhilde imprisoned. Siegfried (Siegmund-Sieglinde's son), re-forges sword, kills Dragon, breaks Wotan's staff. Siegfried drugged, forgets Brünnhilde, marries Guntrune. In-laws kill Siegfried. Brünnhilde joins him on funeral pyre. Vallhalla burns. Balance restored.
by Nicholas Burns From splashes to ashes.
by Huon Mallalieu Dwarf Alberich steals Rhinemaidens’ gold, forswears human love, forges ring. God Wotan takes Alberich’s treasure to pay giants for Valhalla. Alberich curses ring. Giant brother kills brother, becomes dragon. Wotan’s son Siegmund beds long-lost sister Sieglinde, is killed by her husband. Warrior daughter Brünhilde tried to save Siegmund so Wotan imprisons her within fire. Sieglinde’s son Siegfried grows up, forges invincible sword, kills dragon, takes ring, breaks Wotan’s spear, braves fire, discovers love with Brünhilde, gives her ring, goes off adventuring, meets Alberich’s son Hagan, unwittingly betrays Brünhilde. Hagen kills him, Brünnhilde jumps on pyre, Rhinemaidens get ring, Valhalla burns.
by David Banks Ring of power made from gold stolen by Alberich from Rhinemaidens after renunciation of love. Wotan nicks gold and has to give all including ring to giants to pay for buildingValhalla. Recovery plan banned but daughter Brünnhilde disobeys and blood line continues to Siegfried. Grown up, he kills dragon (metamorphosed giant) and takes ring before finding and falling in love with (aunt) Brünnhilde. Betrays her and is killed by Alberich's son. Brünnhilde sees through deception and sacrifices herself on Siegfried's funeral pyre. Ring returns to Rhinemaidens. Rhine overflows. Valhalla and gods fall.
by Antony Gordon Power-crazed, spear-toting, henpecked, husband Wotan gets house built by dodgy builders. Wotan raises ruffian Siegmund, who gets eliminated when Fricka finds out, after he has fathered Siegfried on sister Sieglinde. Siegfried kills remaining dodgy builder, and seeks maiden who needs rescuing. On the way he meets Wotan and playfully chops up his spear. Siegfried seduces Auntie Brünnhilde, and goes walkabout. Gutrune bewitches simple Siegfried and sends him off for Brünnhilde for brother Gunther. Annoyed Brünnhilde commits suicide, and throws the source of all power into the Rhine. Wotan’s dodgy home catches fire, leaving the world to men and dodgy builders.
by K White Rhine Maidens 1 : Gods 0 (after extra time)
by John Randall Three guardians play in the Rhine, until Alberich pilfers their Rhinegold, forging from it a magic ring. Wotan steals this ring and enters his castle, Valhalla. Meanwhile Siegmund rescues his sister Sieglinde and takes the Nothung blade. He fights, until his father Wotan intervenes, killing Siegmund. Years later Sieglinde’s son, Siegfried reforges the blade, claiming the ring. Siegfried awakens Brünnhilde from a ring of fire, giving her the ring, symbolising his love. However their love is redirected towards Gutrune and Gunther. Gunther murders Siegfried, and Brünnhilde rides heartbroken into Siegfried’s funeral pyre. The flames rise into Valhalla, destroying the gods.
by Christopher Blandford love seeks death
power evokes desintegration
greed builts poverty
guilt breeds resntment
by Loek van der Sande The Ring is a warning to Mankind;
In ruthless pursuit of Riches and Power
Betrayal leads to anger
Anger leads to violence
Violence leads to death
For Heroes and Gods alike.
There were no winners at the end
Just a mass conflagration.
How did Adolf Hitler,
Who's favourite this was,
Thinking he was Hero and God
Miss this message?
Generations to come
Listen to the Ring
And heed its warning!
by Geoffrey Grayer Rheinmaidens tease Alberich who steals Rhinegold, enslaves Neiblungs. Wotan steals gold and ring, cheats Giants who built Valhalla (fancy pad, unseen). Twin Seigmund gets sister pregnant, gets killed. Wotan's daughter Brünnhilde fights with Dad, gets ring, sleeps in ring of fire. Siegfried, son of twins, kills childminder Mime, gets spear and Tarnhelm, follows bird up Rhine, wakes Brünnhilde. Siegfried gets ring, dumps Brünnhilde, gets conned by Alberich's son's half brother, aka Mime's step nephew once removed. Who then kills Siegfried. Brünnhilde, having bad news from home, jumps into fire throwing ring to Rheinmaidens. So ? Why ?????
by Anne
Listen Live
help