Heinrich Heine was born in Düsseldorf, December 13, 1797, of Jewish parents. The Napoleonic Wars were among the chief impressions of his childhood. He saw Napoleon ride through Düsseldorf; he saw the tattered remains of the Grande Armée return from the disastrous Russian campaign; and although not without the patriotic fervor of the German youth, he could not but admire the genius of the great Corsican (46). At Hamburg the young Heine was to enter upon a commercial career under the guidance of his rich uncle, but failed. An unrequited love for his cousin Amalie Heine became for a number of years the subject of his song. His favorite, almost exclusive vehicle; of expression is the simple stanza of the _Volkslied_, which he uses with consummate skill for new effects. Heine's attempts in law proved as futile as those in business; although he did pass his examination for the degree of _Doctor juris_, the study of poetry had been his chief endeavor in his university career. Finally he decided to make literature his profession. Disgruntled with things in general and more especially with Germany--he had been crossed in his love for Amalie's younger sister Therese, the rich uncle not wanting a penniless poet for a son-in-law--Heine went to Paris in 1831, where he lived till his death (February 17, 1856), often reviling but always cherishing and loving Germany, the country of sweet romantic song. Compare his poem _In der Fremde_ (64). 46. The theme of the poem is the loyalty of the humble soldier to his chosen hero. Its tone is utterly realistic, its language and metaphors those of everyday prose. Notice the effects Heine achieves by varying the number of unaccented syllables, e.g., 13 and 33, X -- X -- X -- X -- and X -- XX -- XX -- XX --. 2. WAREN GEFANGEN, _had been captives_. 6. VERLOREN GEHEN, _to be lost_. 10. WOHL, _indeed_; OB, _because of_. 11. MIR IST WEH, _I am sore at heart_; _mir wird weh_? 13. DAS LIED IST AUS, _the jig is up, all is over_. 18. ICH TRAGE, _I bear, I cherish_. 47--58. A rearrangement from two cycles, _Lyrisches Intermezzo_ and _Heimkehr_. The main theme is the poet's unrequited love for his cousin Amalie Heine (49, Therese). 48. The Lorelei is the name of a high cliff overlooking the Rhine. Clemens Brentano invented the myth, and the theme became popular in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Heine gave it its final form, in which it has practically become a folksong. The first four lines give us the mood of the poet, the second four give the setting of the action. 9-22 describe the action. Notice the utter simplicity of 21 and 22, which characterizes also the short epilogue, 23 and 24. This simple way of ending a poem Heine has in common with the folksong. 4. _That does not leave my thought_. 18. Impersonal, best rendered by the passive.