Rix’s chapter examines 'Goethe’s famous ballad ‘Erlkönig’ and its substantial influence on a generation of Romantic poets in Britain, Denmark, and Germany. Goethe’s German verses warrant attention in a volume concerned with Nordic Romanticism because they were inspired by traditional Danish balladry. Rix’s chapter examines Goethe’s ballad as an adaptation from traditional folklore and shows how, through its several translations, it became instrumental in the re-discovery of vernacular sources in the early Romantic period.