Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, the scion of an old aristocratic family, was born in his ancestral castle in Silesia, March 10, 1788, and died November 26, 1856. Three things especially have left an impression on his poetry: his deeply loved Silesian home with its castle-crowned wooded hills and its beautiful valleys and streams; a simple childlike piety; and an early acquaintance with the VolksbÜcher and the Volkslied. The only things in Eichendorff's life that have a romantic glamor are his happy, carefree student days and his participation in the Wars of Liberation (1813-1815). When peace was declared, the poet entered the service of the Prussian state and proved himself a careful and trusted official. Thus, living a busy life, he could write that classic of romantic idleness: Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts, The Autobiography of a Good-for-Nothing.

Eichendorff's lyric verse can be described best by Nietzsche's definition of a Lied: "Takt als Anfang, Reim als Ende, und als Seele stets Musik." Music is the very soul of his lyrics to an unusual degree. A melody of haunting sweetness dwells in his simple lines. It is as if the music of Robert Schumann had sought to clothe itself in words. Coupled with this, we meet a most delicate perception of nature and a remarkable ability to portray her various aspects and her ever varying moods. Romantic Sehnsucht (yearning), romantic Wanderlust and the romantic love of nature have found in Eichendorff their finest expression.

33.—10. VOR, on account of, because of.

11. WAS, why.

12. with free throat and joyous breast.

16. AUFS BEST', in the best way.

34.—3. WOHL. indeed.

13. BANNER, usually neuter.

16. The forest is the scene of many of the old legends.

21. Always remain steadfast and true. Compare: Wir bleiben die
Alten, i.e., our feeling toward each other will not change, we shall
remain true friends.

35. Besides its love of nature and its religious note, both apparent in the previous poems, notice especially the touch of symbolism; the poet stands in Waldesschatten wie an des Lebens Rand.

5, 6. SCHLAGEN HEREIN, the tones of the bells come pealing into the shadow of the forest.

10. VON. down from, on.

36. This poem describes, as the title indicates, the dawn of spring: how spring in a moonlight night imparts a mysterious stirring of new life to all nature. With its variously interwoven rhymes, both end and internal, its use of assonance and alliteration, to mention only the more obvious effects, the poem is a musical symphony.

8. WOLKENFRAU'N, clouds personified.

11. FRÜHLINGSGESELLEN, i.e. Waldquellen as helpers of spring.

37. Might well be compared to the elfin dances of Moritz von Schwind, the romantic painter.

38.—2. EIN SCHUß FÄLLT, a shot (of a gun) is heard.

40.—5. ENTBRENNTE for entbrannte.

42. Compare with 38, as to the use of the human element.

1. DER NEBEL FÄLLT, i.e., sinks away.

2. WIE BALD SICH'S RÜHRET, how soon life will stir.

43.—4. Note the onomatopoetic effect of the rhythm.

44. This poem is the quintessence of Eichendorff's lyric verse. Note the construction of the stanzas. The first stanza is composed of two syntactic units: 1 and 2, 3 and 4; the second of four units; notice the effect of the two heavy syllables sternklar; the third stanza reverts in structure to the first. Notice the effect of the inversion in 10: Weit ihre FlÜgel aus, — XX — X —.