There existed a firmly-established culture of 'learning-by-doing' in the artisan professions during the time of Schubert and Müller. When an apprentice became a journeyman, they often undertook a 'wandering', during which their goal was to obtain knowledge about their profession in the different parts of the German-speaking countries. After a sufficient amount of time spent under the guidance of different masters, the journeymen were allowed to establish their own businesses.
At the beginning of this song cycle, the journeyman asks the master for permission to further his travels to a new mill, which he quickly finds alongside the brook that navigates his way. There he falls in love with the beautiful miller's daughter, receiving a somewhat positive response, but ultimately meets his fate in the brook when the girl decides to go along with the hunter.
It is an integral part of the Sturm und Drang movement to mirror one's feelings and general events through nature. In the whole of 'Die schöne Müllerin' there are just a handful of lines from people, other than the protagonist. In the second major cycle from Schubert and Müller, 'Winterreise', the character does not even meet other human beings until the hurdy-gurdy player in the very last song. The brook is the young man's faithful companion in 'Die schöne Müllerin', with whom he shares his thoughts, joys and sorrows. The brook is usually seen as a jolly fellow traveller, but can also be regarded as an ambivalent dramatis personae, who lures the journeyman to his inevident cruel destiny. The protagonist of the cycle is an impulsive person, who is extremely resolute about his feelings. Because of these qualities, he is unable to notice the twofold nature of the brook, he does not understand that the miller's daughter does not take their relationship as seriously as he does and his impetuousness ultimately drives him to an extremely hasty decision to end his own life.
The colours also play a major part in the song cycle. In the beginning, green is the colour of chlorophyll and symbolises evergreen love. The boy has a green ribbon on his lute, which he then gifts to the girl. When the huntsman wins the girl over in his green uniform, it turns the colour from beloved to loathsome. The journeyman is white from working in the mill. It could be seen that he is already marked by death. The brook is blue, as are the eyes of the girl and the blue forget-me-nots that grow alongside the stream. We argue that following the different colours and their meanings in the song cycle makes listening to it an even more interesting experience.