Debunking the Erl-King: A Reinterpretation

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I believe that the poem "The Erl-King" is not a true tale of an Erkling attack but is instead merely a coincidental story made up from the author's imagination. There is several moments from both the lesson and the text that I feel shows my beliefs to be true. For example, as we learned in the lesson, Erklings lure children away with the express intent of eating them. However, at the end of the text, the child's father is said to be holding his dead child in his arms. Thus, it cannot have been an Erkling that attacked the child because it would not have left any bodily evidence behind! Another example from the text that I feel supports my theory of the poem not being a true Erkling attack is when the father says, "My son, my son, I see it

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