How is the narrative told within Lines 200~295 of the poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning?

How is the narrative told within Lines 200~260 of the poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning?

By writing the whole poem in rhyme Browning has created a childlike feel to the poem. This and the fact that it based upon a traditional children's story makes is accessible to children. I think that this is has been purposely done by Browning to make it a cautionary tale for children. By having it in rhyme and a well known story it means that a more serious message about the government can be passed onto children without being too severe.

Browning has used enjambment between lines 200-226 to show how excited the children were as they followed the pied piper and how frantic the parents were as they ran after their children. He has also shown a frantic and excited feeling in line 200 'like fowls in a farm yard when barley is scattering' representing how greedy the children were. This makes the children's need to follow the piper seem as strong hunger and a need for food. Since you need food to survive it makes the act appear more instinctive as opposed to of their own free will.

Browning has used the voice of the lame boy between lines 235-255 to tell the story. In this the lame boy describes what happened to the children who followed the pied piper. The place the children go to could possibly be a metaphor for heaven, reflecting some of the social and political issues of Browning time. This representation could be what happened to Victorian children that died due to the government’s ignorance, and lack to look after the lower classes. This idea is supported in line 258 'Horses born with eagles wings' which is rather angelic and links with Pegasus a winged horse created by the gods in Greek mythology.

Lines 250-254 'My lame foot would have been speedily cured, The music stopped and I stood still, And found myself outside the hill, left alone against my will, To go now limping as before'. By using lame boy as the narrator for this part of the poem is really effective because it gives him the role of speaker for the children. The fact that he is lame creates empathy from the reader and set the mood for the rest of the poem; you feel especially sorry for the lame boy because he not only alone now the other children have gone but he was the one child who needed the heaven the most as it would have cured his legs. The quote is a good example of Browning describing how the poor were left poor whereas those with better fortunes (able bodied children) were able to move on and go to better places.

The point about the rich being given help/opportunity easier is supported in lines 258-259 'A text which says that heaven's gate Opes to the rich an easy rate' as it says how the gates to heaven open easier for the rich, an important aspect of the themes (social and historical context) that Browning has included.