The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning

Illustration by Kate Greenaway

I have found that quite a few things escaped my notice when I was a child; one of them was Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin.  Of course, I knew the story, but I had never heard or read Browning's version.  I mentioned this to my wife and to my surprise she started reciting parts of the poem.

According to Browning, the people of Hamelin were happy and prosperous, except in one respect: their city was heavily infested with rats, which were getting into every cellar and cupboard in town.  One day a piper dressed in red and yellow turns up at the Town Hall and he tells the mayor and aldermen that for a thousand guilders he will rid the city of the rats.  The Piper's terms are accepted, and he delivers on his promise; however, the Council refuse to uphold their side of the bargain, and they offer to pay only fifty guilders.  The Piper exacts his revenge by enchanting away the children of Hamelin, and they are last seen following the Piper into a cave entrance, which shuts forever when the Piper's music stops.  Despite their best efforts, the people of Hamelin never have news of their children again.

Browning's poem is very readable.  He does tend to pile up the end-rhymes throughout the stanzas of the poem, and the meter is wayward in places.  Even so, Browning's apt choice of words to paint brief but vivid scenes redeems the poem, and we can forgive any resemblance it bears to doggerel. Anyway, the kids will love it.

The moral of the tale seems straightforward - don't break your promises - but I've often wondered about the symbolism of this tale.  The Piper has supernatural talents.  He can punish as well as reward, and he does punish those who do not keep their promises.  Krishna is traditionally depicted as a piper, for it is he who bestows the breath of life.  And we know how judgemental and vengeful the God of Abraham can be to anyone who breaks His covenant.  The Piper offers both the rats and the children a vision of paradise (as is reported by the one surviving rat and the one remaining child).  Yes, I think there are quite a few avenues of metaphorical speculation that the willing reader can stroll down at their leisure, should they read the poem.

Publishing details: The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning (originally published 1842)

A copy of the poem can be found at: The Pied Piper of Hamelin