Poetry Forum

Here's one I found that spooked me, truly the darker side of folk myth. Translated from the original German, quite well I think. Opinions, on this or just the idea of dark fantasy?

Der Erlkoenig or The Erl (Elf) King, by J.W. Goethe


O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says;
"My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?"
"O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."

The Erl-King Speaks
"O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for theee many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."

"O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
"Be still, my heart's darling--my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."

Erl-King
"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear three so lightlyt thro' wet and thro' wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"
"Oh yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon."

Erl-King
"O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."
"O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me--his grasp is so cold!"

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead.

That is some poem. Thank you for sharing it with me.

there is a musical setting of this poem, i think by schubert - worth trying to track down, probably on internet somewhere.

There is indeed. I have since heard it. Very eerie.

being the uncultured swine I am, I just learned to pronounce his name "goo-te" from a German.

Names are a bit like faces, open to interpretation.

I knew a german girl, still do I think. She sent me three translated ' gerta ' poems, they all rhymed, how the fuck does that work?

Minstrel

the problem was before that I was saying "gothe/goathe."
but I'm not stupid, honest.

Actually come to think of it many German hymns translated also rhyme. There must be some similarity on the ends of English and German words. Or something.