______ is the literary ballad of Goethe that shows the belief in elves, fairies, etc., and that these creatures don't have any souls and wrestle with human beings to get one.

• A. Faust
• B. The Elf King
• C. Gretchen
• D. Hesperus

Answer: (B)

In this ballad, the presence of elfin beings and the fear that they can claim a human soul are central ideas. The poem centers on the Erlkönig, a supernatural elf-king who embodies a predatory, otherworldly force. The father and son ride through a night of wind and shadows, the child perceives the Erlkönig’s approach and pleads for help, while the father, unable to see the illusion, tries to reassure him. The tension builds as the horse tires and the boy’s cries grow more desperate, ending with the child’s death and the sense that the Erlkönig has seized the soul. This specific portrayal—elves and fairies shown as dangerous beings that seek souls—fits the description precisely.

That combination of a Goethe ballad, focus on elves and fairies, and the theme of these creatures wrestling with humans to get a soul is unique to this piece. The other options point to different Goethe works or characters that don’t match this supernatural, soul-seizing evocation.