The Sorcerer's Apprentice him in his youth. It is, indeed, the oldest known variation of this tale type. While the similarities are so great as to make it obvious that Lucian was Goethe's inspiration, there are several minor differences: Similar themes (such as the power of magic or technology turning against the insufficiently wise person invoking it) are found in many traditions and works of art: Following Goethe's poem and Dukas' symphonic piece and the film "Fantasia", the term "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" has had numerous iterations as the title of various media pieces. These include several novels and nonfiction books, including novels by
The Sorcerer modern audience why a baronet cannot marry a pew-opener, while in the Victorian era it was self-evident. Also, the humour in the piece relies in many instances on parodies of operatic conventions that may be unfamiliar to some audiences. In 1913, E. J. Dent wrote in reference to "The Sorcerer": "It seems as if a course of Mozart in English might be the best preliminary step towards educating our on-coming public to a really intelligent appreciation of Sullivan". Gilbert scholar Andrew Crowther argues that while both "The Sorcerer" and "H.M.S. Pinafore" satirise the idea of love levelling all ranks, the