Imagining a wily independent rogue who follows his own paths, tells unpalatable truths, takes jabs at conventional society and makes fools of pompous authority figures, all while indulging in dirty humour is exactly what drew Richard Strauss to compose one of the finest examples of musical humour ever elaborated.
Goethe famously said, “Eulenspiegel: All the chief jests of the book depend on this: that everybody speaks figuratively and Eulenspiegel takes it literally.” Till Eulenspiegel is more than a charming rogue, and his 95 tales are more than an entertaining collection of pranks. There is almost no moralizing in the book, Till Eulenspiegel takes people at their word, and acts on what they actually say, rather than what they mean, thumbing his nose at society.
Till Eulenspiegel, the man is something of a mystery, the last of the tales say he died in 1350 of the plague. However, some references remain impossible to verify and the lovable character he has become in Western traditions would probably have little in common with any flesh and blood man who might have lived. The name of popular German jester called Till Eulenspiegel or Master Tyll Owlglass, in modern German is translated as “owl mirror,” or “wise mirror,” from which has been inferred the sub-title, “wise reflection,” befitting to a collection of tales meant to edify the reader. In any case, this presumably historical figure whose escapades are greatly exaggerated made him a staple of Germanic folklore.
Alixandra Porembski, English Language Annotator