Editing Das Rheingold (section)

===Third scene===
The descent of Wotan and Loge into Nibelheim is represented musically in the second entr'acte, which begins with the "renunciation" and "spear" motifs but is quickly overwhelmed with the insistent, rhythmic 9/8 beat of the Nibelung motif in B{{music|flat}},{{sfn|Millington|2006|p=103}} briefly foreshadowed in Loge's scene 2 soliloquy.{{sfn|Newman|1949|p=497}} In the climax to the entr'acte this rhythm is hammered out on eighteen anvils.{{sfn|Millington|2006|p=102}} This motif is thereafter used, not just to represent the Nibelungs but also their enslavement in a state of relentless misery.{{sfn|Scruton|2017|p=64}} During the scene's opening interaction between Alberich and Mime, the soft, mysterious "Tarnhelm" motif is heard on muted horns; this is later combined with the "serpent" motif as, at Loge's behest, Alberich uses the Tarnhelm to transform himself into a giant snake.{{sfn|Newman|1949|pp=499–501}} The transition back to the mountaintop, following Alberich's entrapment, references a number of motifs, among them Alberich's woe, the ring, renunciation and the Nibelungs' enslavement.{{sfn|Millington|2006|p=103}}{{sfn|Mann|1964|p=63}}{{sfn|Newman|1949|p=506}}