Der Erlkönig

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"The Erlking", by Albert Sterner, ca. 1910

"Der Erlkönig" (often called just "Erlkönig") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the "Erlking" (widely translated as "Elf King", but see the discussion of the legend below). It was originally composed by Goethe as part of a 1782 ballad opera entitled Die Fischerin.

The poem has been used as the text for lieder (art songs for voice and piano) by many classical composers; a list appears here. Of these, the most famous is undoubtedly the one by Franz Schubert, his op. 1 D. 328 (see section below). It was Schubert's most popular song during his lifetime. There have been many other adaptations, notably by Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Carl Friedrich Zelter, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Johann Carl Gottfried Löwe; Beethoven attempted to set it to music but abandoned the effort. More recently, the poem has been reinvented by the German band Rammstein as the song "Dalai Lama". Later contemporary musical interpretations of the poem have been done by other German artists: Christian Brückner, who is a well-known actor and voice in Germany, lent his voice for a track called Earlkings legacy which was produced in cooperation with BAD EGGZ in 2002. Another version was done by Hypnotic Grooves (featuring Jo Van Nelson).

1 Summary
2 Text
3 The Franz Schubert composition
4 Legend
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] Summary

Goethe's poem begins with a young boy being brought to his home by his father. The meaning is somewhat ambiguous, as the word "Hof" has the rather generic meaning of "yard" or "place." ("Platz" is a synonym.) In this case it could mean a "courtyard" or "farmyard" (though "der Bauernhof" is the literal word for a farmyard). The ambiguity about the father's social rank is quite acceptable because any father would have similar feelings about a son (or daughter) so ill and in pain.

The poem begins by giving the impression that the child is simply dying from a vague, unspecified ailment and sees death as a figment of his imagination. As it proceeds, the poem takes an ever darker twist, and ends with the child's death.

One story has it that Goethe was visiting a friend when, late one night, a dark figure carrying a bundle in its arms was seen riding past the gate at high speed. The next day Goethe and his friend were told that they had seen a farmer taking his sick son to the doctor. This incident (along with the legend) is said to have been the main inspiration for the poem.

[edit] Text

Original German	English Translation
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm. "Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?" "Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?" "Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif." "Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand." "Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?" "Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind." "Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn? Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn, Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein." "Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?" "Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau: Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau." "Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt." "Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an! Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!" Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind, Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, Erreicht den Hof mit Müh' und Not; In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.	Who rides so late through night and wind? It is the father with his child. He holds the boy safe in his arm He holds him safe, he keeps him warm. "My son, why do you hide your face so fearfully?" "Father, do you not see the Elf king? The Elf king with crown and robe?" "My son, it's a wisp of fog." "You lovely child, come, go with me! Nothing but beautiful games I'll play with you; Many colourful flowers are on the shore, My mother has many golden robes." "My father, my father, can't you hear, What the Elf king quietly promises me?" "Be calm, stay calm, my child; It is the wind rustling in the dry leaves." "Do you want to come with me, fine lad? My daughters should already be waiting for you; My daughters lead the nightly folkdance And rock you and dance and sing." "My father, my father, and can't you see there, The Elf king daughters in the gloomy place?" "My son, my son, I see it well: It is the old grey willows gleaming." "I love you, your beautiful form entices me; And if you're not willing, I shall use force." "My father, my father, now he takes hold of me! The Elf king has wounded me!" It horrifies the father; he rides swiftly, Holding in his arms the moaning child. He reaches the yard with great difficulty; In his arms, the child was dead.

Original German

English Translation

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

"Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?"
"Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?"
"Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif."

"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir;
Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand."

"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?"
"Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind."

"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein."

"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?"
"Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau."

"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."
"Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!"

Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Müh' und Not;
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.

Who rides so late through night and wind?
It is the father with his child.
He holds the boy safe in his arm
He holds him safe, he keeps him warm.

"My son, why do you hide your face so fearfully?"
"Father, do you not see the Elf king?
The Elf king with crown and robe?"
"My son, it's a wisp of fog."

"You lovely child, come, go with me!
Nothing but beautiful games I'll play with you;
Many colourful flowers are on the shore,
My mother has many golden robes."

"My father, my father, can't you hear,
What the Elf king quietly promises me?"
"Be calm, stay calm, my child;
It is the wind rustling in the dry leaves."

"Do you want to come with me, fine lad?
My daughters should already be waiting for you;
My daughters lead the nightly folkdance
And rock you and dance and sing."

"My father, my father, and can't you see there,
The Elf king daughters in the gloomy place?"
"My son, my son, I see it well:
It is the old grey willows gleaming."

"I love you, your beautiful form entices me;
And if you're not willing, I shall use force."
"My father, my father, now he takes hold of me!
The Elf king has wounded me!"

It horrifies the father; he rides swiftly,
Holding in his arms the moaning child.
He reaches the yard with great difficulty;
In his arms, the child was dead.

[edit] The Franz Schubert composition

Franz Schubert composed his lied Erlkönig in 1815 for solo voice and piano, with text from the Goethe poem. Schubert revised it three times before publishing his fourth version, in 1821, as his Opus 1; subsequent to his death, it was cataloged as D.328, using the system devised by Otto Erich Deutsch. It was first performed in concert on December 1, 1820, at a private gathering in Vienna, and received its public premiere on March 7, 1821, at Vienna's Kärntnertor Theatre.

The four characters — narrator, father, son, and the Elf King — are all sung by one vocalist normally, but the work has been performed by four separate singers on occasion. Schubert has placed each character in largely a different vocal range and each has his own rhythmic nuances; in addition, most vocalists endeavor to use a different vocal color for each one.

The Narrator lies in the middle range and is in minor mode.
The Father lies in the low range and sings both in minor mode and major mode
The Son lies in a high range, also in minor mode, representing the fright of the child.
The Elf King's vocal line undulates up and down to arpeggiated accompaniment resulting in striking contrast and is in the major mode. The Elf King lines are typically sung pianissimo, portraying a sneaky persuasiveness.

Erlkönig starts with the piano rapidly playing octaves to create a horror theme and triplets of a repeated note to simulate a horse's galloping; this motif continues throughout. Each of the son's pleas grows louder and higher pitched than the previous ones. Near the very end of the piece the music quickens (as the father desperately tries to spur his horse to go faster), slows down (as he arrives), and the piano stops before the final line, "In seinen Armen das Kind war tot" (In his arms the child was dead). The piece then ends with a dramatic perfect cadence.

The piece is regarded as extremely challenging to perform due to the vocal characterization required of the vocalist as well as its difficult accompaniment, involving the playing of rapidly repeated chords and octaves to create the drama and urgency in the poetry.

[edit] Legend

The legend of the Erlkönig appears to have originated in fairly recent times in Denmark, and Goethe based his poem on "Erlkönigs Tochter" ("Erlkönig's Daughter"), a Danish work translated into German by Johann Gottfried Herder. It appeared as "The Elf King's Daughter" in his collection of folk songs, Stimmen der Völker in Liedern (published 1778).

The Erlkönig's nature has been the subject of some debate. The name translates literally from the German as "Alder King" rather than its common English translation, "Elf King" (which would be rendered as Elfenkönig in German). It has often been suggested that Erlkönig is a mistranslation from the original Danish ellerkonge or elverkonge, which does mean "elf king."

According to German and Danish folklore, the Erlkönig appears as an omen of death, much like the banshee in Irish mythology. Unlike the banshee, however, the Erlkönig will appear only to the person about to die. His form and expression also tell the person what sort of death he or she will have: a pained expression means a painful death, while a peaceful expression means a peaceful death.

Another interpretation suggests that Erlkönig is based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of the elves must die.

[edit] Trivia

The Rammstein song "Dalai Lama" from the album Reise, Reise is a modernized version of the poem, taking place on an airplane.
The neofolk band Forseti has a song called Erlkönig that uses the poem as lyrics.
The PlayStation Portable game Work Time Fun features a mini-game based on Franz Schubert's composition.
The Volker Schlöndorff film The Ogre is a 20th Century adaptation of the poem. The film tells the story of a French soldier in World War II, John Malkovich, who is taken prisoner by the Germans and begins recruiting young peasant boys for the Hitler Youth.