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Difference between revisions of "Der Erlkönig"
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'''"''Der Erlkönig''"''' (eng.: Erlking, Alderking or Earlie-king (Aytoun and Martin)<ref name=" | '''"''Der Erlkönig''"''' (eng.: Erlking, Alderking or Earlie-king (Aytoun and Martin)<ref name="TranslationE1"/>) is arguably the most famous German ballad. Goethe describes a nightly ride on horseback. A father tries to reach his home, his feverish child in his arms. The story of the ''Erlkönig'' derives from the traditional Danish ballad Elveskud: Goethe's poem was inspired by Johann Gottfried Herder's translation of a variant of the ballad.<ref name="Wiki"/> The poem was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 Singspiel, ''Die Fischerin'' (The [female] Fisher). It has been set to music many times. Best known is the version by [[Franz Schubert]].<p><ref name="Wiki"/> | ||
The poem is not only gripping for its dire theme (a sick child who dies in the end, the sudden end a depiction of the emptiness and horror the father must feel. The son's and the father's view of the world occur at the same time; the father's assurance that his sons' visions are just fantasies and cannot hurt him are demonstrably not true.<p> | The poem is not only gripping for its dire theme (a sick child who dies in the end, the sudden end a depiction of the emptiness and horror the father must feel. The son's and the father's view of the world occur at the same time; the father's assurance that his sons' visions are just fantasies and cannot hurt him are demonstrably not true.<p> | ||
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}}{{Libretti | }}{{Libretti | ||
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| language-note = Poetic translation | | language-note = Poetic translation | ||
| libretto-text =<poem>Who rides so late through the grisly night? | | libretto-text =<poem>Who rides so late through the grisly night? | ||
'Tis a father and child, and he grasps him tight; | 'Tis a father and child, and he grasps him tight; | ||
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The sobbing child in his arms he clasps; | The sobbing child in his arms he clasps; | ||
He reaches the castle with spurring and dread;<nowiki>*</nowiki> | He reaches the castle with spurring and dread;<nowiki>*</nowiki> | ||
But, alack! in his arms the child lay dead!<ref name="TranslationE1"/></poem> | But, alack! in his arms the child lay dead! | ||
''Translation by by W. Edmonstoune Aytoun, D.C.I. and Theordore Martin''<ref name="TranslationE1"/></poem> | |||
<poem> | <poem> | ||
<div class="footnotes"><nowiki>*</nowiki>) Though ''Hof'' in German can refer to a castle; when it does, it is used like the term "court" in English. (''"bei Hofe": ''"at court").''"Hof"'' originally means "yard" (also synonymously used for household, or property). The way that Goethe uses it, it suggests the yard with the connotation of "his own property" as the most likely meaning, not the castle as Ayton and Martin assumed.</div> | <div class="footnotes"><nowiki>*</nowiki>) Though ''Hof'' in German can refer to a castle; when it does, it is used like the term "court" in English. (''"bei Hofe": ''"at court").''"Hof"'' originally means "yard" (also synonymously used for household, or property). The way that Goethe uses it, it suggests the yard with the connotation of "his own property" as the most likely meaning, not the castle as Ayton and Martin assumed.</div> | ||