The Star in the West

THE VIRGIN 105 A draught of ichor of the veins of Hell ! Curses leap leprous , epicene , unclean , The soul of the obscene Incarnate in the spirit : and above Hangs Sin , vast vampire , the corrupt , that swings Her unredeeming wings Over the world , and flaps , for lust of Death - and Love ! 1 " Kill me,” cries Tannhäuser . “ In the kiss , ” answers Venus : thus ends Act II . Act III opens a different scene . The outer materi ality of body is all but sated , the starved soul within cries for sustenance ; he murmurs “ Elizabeth ,” and then wakes strong through her perfection . Venus still entices , but her power has vanished , and at the name of “ Ave Maria !” the exorcism entangled round the souls of the victims of the Venusberg vanishes in a vast roll of thunder and amidst the fierce flashes of dazzling lightning which rush through the leaden sky rending the depths of despair . Tannhäuser is re leased from his bondage , and the shackles of lust fall from his soul ; he is free , and kneeling by a Calvary . Act IV again brings our knight before the gaze of the world . He has eaten of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and of Evil , and has become as a god . He wends his way to the Court of the Landgrave and there meets Elizabeth , “ His far - off baby - love ,” as Venus called her , and whispers to himself , “ Cannot purity be brought to know aught but itself ? ” Herein lies the note of his misfortunes . Purity was but ignorance , and Tannhäuser was now a god , knowing both good and evil : 1 Tannhäuser , vol . i, p . 239 .