Over my time in undergrad, I became incredibly interested in the story of Franz Schubert's life, and the ways in which Die Schöne Müllerin were instrumental in reflecting his fall from grace, his inevitable descent into madness, and his subsequent demise. I picked three pieces from this prolific song cycle which, in the context of their standalone trio combination, outline the story arc of not only the song cycle they hail from, but of Schubert's own life.