Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Der Erlkönig

Der Erlkönig Background

  • Der Erlkönig is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, written in 1782 as part of a ballad opera
  • Franz Schubert incorporated the poem text into his 1815 song "Der Erlkönig"

Layout

There are four characters in the song.

  • Narrator, Father, Son, and the Erlking
  • Usually all sung by a single vocalist
  • Schubert placed each character largely in a different vocal range, eaching his his own rhythmic variation
  • Most singers endeavor to use a different vocal coloration for each part.

1. The Narrator lies in the middle range and is in minor mode.

2. The Father lies in the low range and signs both in minor mode and major mode.

3. The Son lies in a high range, also in minor mode, representing the fright of the child.

4. The Erlking's vocal line undulates up and down to arpeggiated accompaniment resulting in striking conrast and is in the major mode. The Erlking lines are typically sung pianissimo.

Summary

An anxious young boy is being carried home at night by his father on horseback. The Hof (Home) has been presumed to be a farmyard, The lack of specificity of the father's social position allows the reader to imagine the details. As the poem unfolds, the son seems to see and hear beings his father does not; the father believes what the child sees are things like a wisp of fog, rustling leaves, shimmering willows. Finally the child shrieks that he has been attacked. The father makes faster for the Hof. There he recognizes that the boy is dead.

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 great 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. One may suppose the boy is simply feverish, delirious, and in need of medical attention. The poem itself leaves the question open.

By: Franz Schubert

make sure you edit the other prezi,

not this one! check the google doc for the link!

Jacqueline Weiss, Pat Costello, Mike Hayes, Crosby Harris

is here

a summary of the poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

First manuscript page of Schubert's "Der Erlkönig"

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi