2. Notice that the second and third stanzas are joined as also the last three. The exuberant fullness of joy creates its own form and overleaps the confines of a single stanza.
3. Written June 1775 in Switzerland on Lake Zürich. Goethe had gone there to escape the unrest into which his love for Lili Schönemann had thrown him. The poem opens with a shout of exultation, 1 and 2; note the inversion — XX — X — Saug' ich aus freier Welt. The rising rhythm of the following lines clearly depicts the movement of rapid rowing. Stanza 2 changes to a falling rhythm; as pictures of the past rise up, the rowing ceases. Stanza 3 depicts a more quiet forward movement; notice the effect of the dactyls in the even lines.
15. TRINKEN, metaphorically for envelop, cause to disappear.
4. The refrain, so common in the Volkslied does not only enhance the melody of the poem, but centers the entire attention on das Röslein and retards the quick dramatic movement of the narrative, which latter is heightened by the omission of the article and the frequent inversion of the verb.
2. HEIDEN, old dative.
3. MORGENSCHÖN, the rose has all the fresh pure beauty of the early morning.
18. WEH UND ACH, cry of pain, piteous outcry.
5. For this and the following poem compare Longfellow's translation.
6. EIN GLEICHES, i.e., another Wanderers Nachtlied. This poem has been justly called die Krone aller Lyrik, the acme of all lyric poetry, because of its simple, perfect beauty.
8. ERINNERUNG, reminder.