Laurel wreath Laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of victory and honor. It is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel ("Laurus nobilis"), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom ("Ruscus hypoglossum") or cherry laurel ("Prunus laurocerasus"). It is worn as a chaplet around the head, or as a garland around the neck. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. In ancient Greece wreaths were awarded to victors, both in athletic competitions, including the ancient Olympics—for which they were made of wild olive-tree known as
The Wood Nymph the "erotic harmonic vocabulary" of "Tristan und Isolde" in the third section and the "motive of the forbidden question" from "Lohengrin" in the funereal march from the finale. In light of Sibelius's "Nietzschean response" to Wagner's operas (initially enamored, Sibelius by July 1894 had repudiated Wagner's ideas as "calculated" and "manufactured"), such observations are of particular interest in that they illustrate the extent to which Sibelius, at the time of "The Wood Nymph", had not yet succeeded in breaking with the German master. A few musicologists have speculated that "The Wood Nymph" is potentially autobiographical. Murtomäki, most notably, has argued