The Pied Piper of Hamelin

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The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, 1845-1846, 2 volumes, edited by Evan Kintner (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969). Great rats, small rats, lean rats…’ The use of a list makes it sound like a lot of rats. From this, it is clear the magic the Pied Piper is using is extremely powerful. Books.google.com: Otto Henne-Am Rhyn, Die deutsche Volkssage: Beitrag zur vergleichenden Mythologie (Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Wilh. Krüger, 1874), p. 91.. There was once a rich man in Akureyar, who was a thorough miser, and would never give anything to the poor. To punish him for this, a certain wizard sent him so many "mice-wolves," that they destroyed all he had, and he finally died in the greatest poverty.

lips he wrinkled…sharp eyes twinkled…a candle-flame where salt is sprinkled’. Pretty language is used making the story even more child-friendly. A great cry of grief emerged from the entire town, but they could do nothing other than commit themselves to the Allmighty and confess their own stupidity and greed which had caused this evil. Bowing, he said to them all, "The punishment that has befallen you shall be removed if you will promise that every village shall pay to me five hundred guilders for the construction of a monastery." Thus did a girl who had followed them afar report to her parents, and thereupon diligent search and inquiry was soon made over land and water to find out whether the children had possibly been stolen and led away. But nobody could tell what had become of the children. This grieved the parents terribly, and is a fearful example of divine anger against sin.Whenever children looked out the window while he was playing nearby, they had to dance to his music and follow after him. In this manner he lured many children into Kindskogel Mountain. Ultimately, then, the Piper didn’t just fracture a community. He also, in the end, brought a larger one together. Browning personifies the pipe, ‘ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered’, creating an idea of magic. The Agreement being made, he befan to play on his Pipes, and all the Rats and Mice followed him to a great Lough hard by, where they all perished; so the Town was infected no more.

One of Browning’s longest poem, it tells of a story of the town of Hamelin that was over run with rats (if you don’t want the plot to the poem, skip this paragraph). The Pied Piper comes to Hamelin and tells the Mayor that he will get rid of the rats for ‘a thousand guilders’. The Mayor agrees and with the help of his flute and magic, the Pied Piper leads the rats down to the river where they all drown. The town of Hamelin are delightful and spend their money drinking to this victory. They forget to pay the Pied Piper for his work leaving the Pied Piper in a revengeful mood. He lures, just like he did with the rats, the children of the town to the top of a mountain where they miraculously disappear. From this story, the moral of the story is to keep to your promise, just like the town of Hamelin never did. The Pied Piper story,” said Reimer, preparing for the debut of her exhibit on 26 June, “is to our knowledge known in at least 42 countries and 30 languages, maybe more. And it appears in international art, literature and music. The Pied Piper is a shared heritage of many people, and that cultural heritage connects people.” He said, "I will take away this plague immediately, but in return each village must pay me one thousand guilders. If you won't give your money for the love of God, then at least do so for your own benefit. With this money I shall build for you a dike from the mountain road of Hendesheim (Handschuhsheim near Heidelberg) to Ramstadt so that the mountain floods will no longer damage your fields."

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Besides introducing the world to “The Pied Piper” and establishing the poet’s modus operandi for his future verse, Dramatic Lyricsalso had a lasting effect on Browning’s personal life. Elizabeth Barrett admired the book, and in her 1844 poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship” she expressed the esteem in which she held Browning by linking him to William Wordsworth and Alfred, Lord Tennyson as one of the great poets of the age. She met Browning and the two poets fell deeply in love, but Elizabeth’s father, Edward Moulton Barrett, would not countenance any of his children marrying and leaving the home. On September 12, 1846 they were secretly married, and one week later they eloped to the Continent. Source (books.google.com): Der Gesellschafter: Blätter für Geist und Herz (no. 192, December 1, 1824), p. 960. Metaphor: It is a comparison between two, unlike things without using “like” or “as.” An example of a metaphor can be found in line 61: “It’s as my great-grandsire, Starting up at the Trump of Doom’s tone, Had walked this way from his painted tombstone!” The speaker compares the pied piper’s appearance to that of a ghost. Source (books.google.com): J. von Hefner and J. W. Wolf, "Die Zauberpfeife," Die Burg Tannenberg und ihre Ausgrabungen (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag der S. Schmerber'schen Buchhandlung, 1850), pp. 33-34.

Finally he set forth out of the town, blowing his horn. The vermin followed him until he came to a pond. He waded in as far as he could, and they swam after him. Finally he stopped blowing his horn, and all the swimmers sank. The Schools' Collection is a manuscript collection of folklore compiled by schoolchildren in Ireland in the 1930s. Learned Lady: Letters from Robert Browning to Mrs. Thomas FitzGerald 1876-1889, edited by McAleer (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966).Major Themes in “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”: “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” explores a range of themes, including the consequences of greed, the importance of fulfilling promises, and the power of music. The poem also touches on themes of loss, betrayal, and the dangers of mob mentality. For example, the rats that infest the town represent the consequences of greed and excess, while the piper himself is a symbol of justice and retribution. Similarly, the children who follow the piper could be interpreted as a representation of innocence lost. The poem also touches on themes of betrayal and the consequences of breaking promises, as the town’s refusal to pay the piper leads to their ultimate downfall. Also, the power of music is a recurring theme throughout the poem, with the piper’s magical tune serving both as a tool of revenge and a symbol of hope. In short, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” explores a range of timeless themes, making it the most popular poem even today.

Source (books.google.com): P. Armand Baumgarten, Aus der volksmässigen Ueberlieferung der Heimatvol 1: Zur volksthümlichen Naturkunde (Linz: Oberösterreichischer Musealverein, 1862), p. 83.Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, Cambridge Edition, edited by G. W. Cooke and H. E. Scudder (Boston & New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1895). When he once again played on his fife all the children followed him; even infants pulled themselves from their mothers' breasts and toddled along after him. When the procession reached Tannenberg Mountain a great opening appeared. The dwarf and the children went inside, and the cliff closed up again, leaving no trace of the children. Asolando: Fancies and Facts(London: Smith, Elder, 1889; Boston & New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1890). But if the tale evokes a universal fear, it still resonates most strongly in Hamelin – and the Piper’s tour suggests why. In fact, the real surprise of his tour isn’t so much the beautifully preserved townscape but the suggestion that the Pied Piper is much more than just a fairy tale. The Grimm Brothers and Browning may have shaped the legend into art, but the story, it turns out, is likely based on an actual historical incident. While the fire was burning he took forth a book, out of which he read much, and while he read, rats and mice, serpents and various reptiles were seen to go into the fire. But at last there came a dragon, at the sight of which the man complained that he was betrayed and must now perish himself. The serpent then wound his tail round both the man and his chair, and thus entered the fire, where they both perished together.