Editing Lohengrin (opera) (section)

== Literary background ==
The literary figure of [[Lohengrin]] first appeared as a supporting character in the final chapter of the medieval epic poem ''[[Parzival]]'' of [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]]. The Grail Knight Lohengrin, son of the [[Grail King]] Parzival, is sent to the duchess of [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]] to defend her. His protection comes under the condition that she must never ask his name. If she violates this requirement, he will be forced to leave her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/13Jh/Wolfram/wol_pa16.html|title=Text from Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival, book XVI|website=bibliotheca Augustana|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030702/http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/13Jh/Wolfram/wol_pa16.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Wagner took up these characters and set the "forbidden question" theme at the core of a story which makes contrasts between the godly and the mundane, and between [[Early Middle Ages|Early Middle Age]] [[Christendom]] and [[Germanic paganism]]. Wagner attempted at the same time to weave elements of [[Greek tragedy]] into the plot. He wrote the following in ''Mitteilungen an meine Freunde'' about his Lohengrin plans:<blockquote>Who doesn't know "[[Zeus]] and [[Semele]]"? The god is in love with a human woman and approaches her in human form. The lover finds that she cannot recognize the god in this form, and demands that he should make the real sensual form of his being known. Zeus knows that she would be destroyed by the sight of his real self. He suffers in this awareness, suffers knowing that he must fulfill this demand and in doing so ruin their love. He will seal his own doom when the gleam of his godly form destroys his lover. Is the man who craves for God not destroyed?{{sfn|Wagner|1993|page=334}}</blockquote>