the word gained currency with the overly literal interpretations of wagner's music by hans von wolzogen, who in 1876 published a "leitfaden" (guide or manual) to the "ring". in it he claimed to have isolated and named all of the recurring motifs in the cycle (the motif of "servitude", the "spear" or "treaty" motif, etc.), often leading to absurdities or contradictions with wagner's actual practice. some of the motifs he identified began to appear in the published musical scores of the operas, arousing wagner's annoyance; his wife cosima wagner quoted him as saying "people will think all this nonsense is done at my request!". in fact wagner himself never publicly named any of his leitmotifs, preferring to emphasize their flexibility of association, role in the musical form, and emotional effect. the practice of naming leitmotifs nevertheless continued, featuring in the work of prominent wagnerian critics ernest newman, deryck cooke and robert donington.