FREE ESSAY ON THE ERL KING

THE ERL KING

"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." Taken from "The Erl King," by Johann Wolgang von Goethe, one
can certainly sense the eerie and suspenseful mood. The author forms this mood by
creating well-structured characters and a unique dialogue.
There were only three characters in "The Erl King": the boy, his father, and the Erl King
himself. Yet, each takes on an important role in conveying the eerie, suspenseful mood of
this poem. The Erl King is actually a spirit, seen only by his victims. That fact alone
gives the mood of the poem a supernatural, mysterious feeling. It is seen that not only
is the Erl King mysterious, but he is quite manipulative. He tries to entice the boy into
going with him, promising him great fun and happiness, but once he recognizes the boy
does not want to leave his father, he becomes angry. All patience is lost and he becomes
more forceful with the boy. His change in temperament quickly reassures the reader that
the Erl King is out to get what he wants at all costs. The young boy is but a vulnerable
child and is an easy target for the Erl King because of his young age. His father thinks
that he is imagining up the Erl King, when in fact he is real. The knowledge that the
reader holds adds suspense to the already eerie mood, because the reader knows that Erl
King is real and that he is trying to take away the young boys life. The father remains
clueless though and you hope the he soon realizes what is happening in order to save his
child's life. 
The dialogue of the poems also displays the mood at hand. The author has the boy
repeatedly warn his father that the Erl King was near, trying to take him away. Despite
the boy's fear, the father dismisses what the child says, after first telling him that it
was something else altogether. "O father! O father! now, now keep your hold. The Erl King
has seized me- his grasp is so cold." The urgency in the young boy's voice lets you know
what a frightful thing is taking place. He yearns for his father to realize what was
happening, adding urgency to the mood of the poem. As the Erl King is whispering into the
boy's ear, you can only pray that he will be safe in the arms of his father, as they
together travel through Germany's Black Forest in the dark of the night.
The eerie, suspenseful mood well created in this poem is unmistakable. The author has
created a mood so that anyone that reads the poem will become aware of it. Word after
word, Johann exceeds his boundaries of dramatic irony, until the final curtain closes of
the young boy's untimely death.