How Does Browning Tell the Story of Parts Iii and Iv of the Pied Piper of Hamelin?

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How does Browning tell the story of parts III and IV of The Pied Piper of Hamelin? Overall in these two parts the people attack the Corporation; the Mayor shows he has no idea what to do, and the Piper knocks at the door. The focus of the story is clearly the conflict between the townspeople and their government – between people and authority. Browning seems concerned with characterisation in particular here; he presents the Mayor and the Corporation as greedy, self-interested fool, using satire. There are comical uses of rhyme: people corporation drawn up in opposition to each other- a “body” versus a “noddy”, “flocking” to see something “shocking” The form of the ballad creates a sense of this as an old story, told over the years, and one with a point or moral behind it. This is reinforced by the medieval setting, which, along with the third person narrative, distances characterisers from a distance. The major is a caricature, for comic purposes, by which Browning makes clear to us the view we should have of him. From “ermine” to “vermin”, Browning uses the rhyme to suggest those with the ermine are the real vermin? The people are given a single voice; this is unrealistic but creates potential social, civic issues. In the first part there are comical uses of rhyme: people/Corporational draw up in opposition to each other –“body” vs a “noddy”, “flocking” to see something “shocking”. The rhymes are simple and easy for children to understand. From “ermine” to “vermin”; Browning uses the rhyme to suggest those with the ermine are the real vermin. Along with the use of comical rhyme, Browning uses assonance verbs alongside colloquial language – “lacking” and “packing” shows the sharpness of ‘verb’ suggests anger of the town’s folks. The people are given a single voice – “cried they” although this is unrealistic it creates potential social, civic issues. At
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