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Wikipedia says the title of Elfen Lied was taken from a [German
poem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfenlied).

But that poem seems to be a simple (not to mention a bit confusing) children's
poem . Reading the poem, I'm not sure why it would inspire anyone to write a
story about killer children.

What does the poem have to do with the anime / manga?


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2013-08-15T22:53:39.323
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2017-12-15T04:56:46.330
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elfen-lied
What does Elfen Lied mean?


Well, in the same Elfenlied (Elf Song) article it says:

> A sung version of **"Elfenlied" appears in the manga**. Also, the term
> **"Silpelit" is used in the series to describe a category of Diclonius** ,
> which refers to an evolved subspecies of humans to which the main character
> belongs.

The "Silpelit" is part of the poem:

> And he thinks that the nightingale  
>  must have called him by name from the valley,  
>  or Silpelit might have sent for him.

Additionally, this song is taught to Nyu by the manga-only protagonist Nozomi.


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2013-08-15T23:54:11.020
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2013-08-15T23:54:11.020
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