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_. 9. Written in 1813 in memory of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the day when the poet had first met Christiane Vulpius. Its never failing charm lies in its utter simplicity, its _Selbstverständigkeit_, and in this one respect it may well be compared to Wordsworth's Lucy ("She dwelt among the untrodden ways"). 1 and 2. FÜR SICH (i.e., _vor sich_) HINGEHEN, _to saunter along, to walk along without any special purpose._ 10. Mignon, a fascinating character in Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister, a strange premature child, expresses in this song her longing for her Italian land. In succinct pictures there arise before us her native land, her ancestral home and the way thither. The very soul of this poem is longing, culminating with ever increasing intensity in the refrain. Note the vivid concreteness of the verbs and the noble simplicity of the adjectives; the vowels, especially in 2. 13. WOLKENSTEG, _bridge that hangs on clouds_ (Carlyle). 16. STÜRZT, _plunges down_, i.e., descends precipitously. 11. The _Harfenspieler_ has, without knowing it, married his own sister. Mignon is the child of this union. In this song he pours forth his despair and the torments of his conscience. 12. Thule is a mythical land of the far North. 3. STERBEND modifies _Buhle_. 7. _his eyes overflowed with tears._ 8. SO OFT, _as often as._ 12. ZUGLEICH, i.e., with his other possessions. 15. AUF, translate _in_. Why _auf_? 21, 22. Note the descriptive effect of the enjambement together with the internal rhyme.