The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1842

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“The Pied Piper” is a narrative poem. It is made up of 15 stanzas of varying lengths, totaling 297 lines. Most of the poem is told in third-person, as the speaker recounts historical events to listeners. However, in the penultimate stanza, the poem switches to the first-person, and the speaker moves the narrative to the present day.

The poem doesn’t follow a set metrical structure; instead, it orders its line patterns and line breaks to achieve the best dramatic effect. For example, Line 10 consists of only one syllable: “Rats!” Most of the full-length lines are written in accentual meter, meaning the lines have a set number of stressed syllables (in this case, four per line) but the stressed syllables aren’t organized into a particular order or pattern.

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The rhyme scheme, likewise, is left intentionally erratic. As a children’s poem, “The Pied Piper” celebrates the flexibility of language through amusing rhymes (which occasionally need to be mispronounced to achieve the rhyme’s full effect). The speaker delights in verbose and antiquated words, rhyming “vermin” and “ermine” (Lines 25, 27) and “psaltery” and “drysaltery” (Lines 130, 132). The rhyme scheme for each stanza fluctuates; for instance, the first stanza follows a ABCCCBDDB pattern, while the second stanza follows a AABABAAACCA pattern. This lighthearted approach to rhyme adds fun for its young audience, even as the poem deals with tragic events.

Metaphor and Simile

As a colorful narrative poem, “The Pied Piper” includes many instances of figurative language to illustrate the setting and events (as well as accommodate several of the rhymes). In the fifth stanza, similes describe the Pied Piper: His eyes are “each like a pin” (Line 54), and his outmoded clothing is compared to the fashion choices of an onlooker’s deceased grandfather. Later, his eyes are compared to a salted candle flame, creating a vibrant image and enhancing the sense of forbidden magic.

The rats are also a site of many comparisons. They sound “as if an army muttered” (Line 101)—a fitting simile since one of the rats is jokingly compared to “Julius Caesar” (Line 117). Another comic image evokes a fat rat king lagging behind the other rats, which suggests a parallel between this rat and the floundering mayor.

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Towards the end of the poem, the children are likewise compared to animals: “And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scattering, / Out came the children running” (195-196). Another, contrasting, simile describes their “teeth like pearls” (Line 199). These conflicting images portray the children as innocent and largely mindless, following after the Piper’s song. Once the children disappear, the onlooking adults are described as “blocks of wood” (Line 203) to convey their immobility. These similes serve to not only convey the important points of the poem in clear detail, but to make the story memorable and accessible for very young readers.

Anaphora and Internal Repetition

Anaphora is a rhetorical device in which successive lines or clauses begin with the same word, phrase, or sound to create a rhythmic effect. The poet uses several instances of anaphora to enhance the poem’s rhythm and make it more engaging for children. Multiple lines begin with “And,” mirroring children’s speech patterns. In the second stanza, several instances of this create a list of rats misbehavior: “They fought the dogs, and killed the cats, / And bit the babies in the cradles, / And eat the cheeses out of the vats, / And licked the soup” (Lines 11-14). This pattern is mimicked in the sixth stanza on a smaller scale, as the Piper is describing his past contests: “That creep, or swim, or fly, or run, / […] The mole, and toad, and newt, and viper” (Lines 68, 72). These lines use the repeated “or” and “and” to create a compounding rhythm that piles instances of similar list items together to heighten the idea of the town being overwhelmed—either by rats, or by the Piper’s prowess. Anaphora is repeated towards the end of the poem: “And a moving away of pickle-tub-boards, / And a leaving ajar of conserve-cupboards, / And a drawing the corks of train-oil-flasks, / And a breaking the hoops of butter-casks” (Lines 125-128).

The seventh stanza uses anaphora and internal repetition liberally to create a broad feeling of organized chaos as the rats are led out of the town: “an army muttered; / And the muttering grew to a grumbling; / And the grumbling grew […]” (Lines 101-103). These lines build the tension slowly by repeating words like “mutter” and “grumble.” Following this moment, the repetition becomes much more fast paced: “Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats, / Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats” (Lines 105-106). Later in the stanza, repetition is used to describe the Piper leading them away: “From street to street he piped advancing, / And step for step they followed dancing” (Lines 113-114). These narrative choices give the stanza a varied musicality that reflects the music being played, creating a sense that the characters are dancing through the story.