Pied Piper Picked a Pepper

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Recommended: Five uses of children's literature

Robert Browning's poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Child's Story" details the strange occurence in a town called Hamelin. This poem is a retelling of a popular piece of folklore about the real town of Hamelin in which children did actually disappear. Browning credits that disappearance to the character of the Pied Piper -- a figure wronged and who retaliates by taking children. In this essay, I aim to explore the depiction of the Pied Piper. He is a character that works on both the levels of child and adult. I believe that Browning is intentional with his descriptions of characters throughout, and I first want to detail Browning's descriptions of the adults and children in order to better understand how the Piper overlaps both classes. Then, I will determine the ways in which the Piper acts out traits of children and adults. Finally, I will conclude with a brief reference to the poem's function as a whole and its relation to the Pied Piper depicted in the piece. Browning wastes no time in describing the Hamelin adults as greedy and lazy. The townspeople, distressed and frustrated with the number of rats in the town, come into a Town Hall meeting and remark that "[the Mayor and Corporation] hope, because [they're] old and obese, / To find in the furry civic robe ease" (ll. 28-29). Before the Piper's initial entrance into the story, Browning notes that the Mayor, while sitting amongst the Corporation, looks "little though wondrous fat" (47). The important description of these adults in authoratative roles is that they seem to embody and personify human faults. This culminates in their unwillingness to pay the Piper for his work in ridding the town of rats. Browning offers an absolute description of the adults here, and ... ... middle of paper ... ...d and the adult to take seriously. I feel as though his depiction in Browning's poem cannot be easily explained. Browning may have used the Piper in this way in order to depict a character who could create fear amongst adults and offer a better world for children. Browning concludes the poem with a personal address for a child named Willy. He commands us all to "be wipers / Of scores out with all men" and urges his audience to keep promises (ll. 300-301). The poem functions like the Piper: it is a warning to adults and a playful story for children. The poem was written by an adult, but is addressed to children. I would argue that the main points of the poem are directed at adults. Both the Piper and the poem disguise themselves in order to appeal to a wider range of audiences. They both condemn corrupt actions and demand children be raised in a better world.

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