The rhyme scheme is ABAB ABAB CDC EDE. In Part 1 there are only two examples of a variation on the Petrachan sonnet form, wherein the quatrains share the same two rhymes; the other is 1-XVII. The normal Petrachan sonnet, however, would have the octet ABBAABBA. The first quatrain consists of two commands. Also the first tercet contains two commands. Strong undercurrent of dactylic meter with irregularities including four examples of the adonic rhythmic pattern. The incomplete dactylic line endings in the following verses also exhibit the Adonic pattern: verse 1 ". . .tretet zuweilen..."; in verse 3 ". . . Wangen sich teilen"; in verse 7 ". . .Ziele von Pfeilen"; verse 9 ". . .leiden die Schwere": and verse 12 ". . . pflanzet, die Bäume" Since they are incomplete phrases they do not exactly qualify as Adonic lines in the same way that verses 11 and 14 do, since each has two complete phrases. It does nevertheless create a similar rhythmic pattern which extends over half of the verse endings.
O ihr Zärtlichen, [1] tretet zuweilen
O you tender ones, step now and then
in den Atem, der euch nicht meint,
into the breathing, which intends you not,
laßt ihn an eueren [2] Wangen sich teilen,
let it divide itself on your cheeks,
hinter euch zittert er, wieder vereint.
behind you it shudders, again united.
O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen, [3]
O you blessed ones, o you healed ones,
die ihr [4] der Anfang der Herzen scheint.
you who appear to be the beginning of the hearts.
Bogen der Pfeile und Ziele von Pfeilen,
Bows of the arrows and targets of arrows,
ewiger glänzt euer Lächeln verweint. [5]
more eternal shines your tear-stained smile.
Fürchtet euch nicht zu leiden, die Schwere, [6]
Fear thee not to suffer, die heaviness,
Gebt sie zurück an der Erde Gewicht; [7]
Give it back to the weight of the earth;
schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere. [8]
heavy are the mountains, heavy are the oceans.
Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflänztet, die Bäume, [9]
Even those you planted as childern, die trees,
wurden zu schwer längst; ihr trüget [10] sie nicht.
have long since become heavy; you could not carry them.
Aber die Lüfte . . . aber die Räume . . . [11]
But the aeriness. . . but the spaces . . .
O ihr Zärtlichen, tretet zuweilen
O you tender ones, step affirmative
in den Atem, der euch nicht meint,
into the breath not meant for you,
laßt ihn an euren Wangen sich teilen,
let it divide on your cheeks so curative,
hinter euch zittert er, wieder vereint.
Behind you it quivers, united anew.
O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen,
O you blessed, o you restorative,
die ihr der Anfang der Herzen scheint.
you who appear as the hearts' debut.
Bogen der Pfeile und Ziele von Pfeilen,
Bows for the arrow and arrows' objective,
ewiger glänzt euer Lächeln verweint.
shines more eternal your smile askew.
Fürchtet euch nicht zu leiden, die Schwere,
Fear thee then not to suffer, the burdens,
Gebt sie zurück an der Erde Gewicht;
Give them on back to the earth's ballast;
schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere.
heavy the mountains, heavy the oceans.
Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflänztet, die Bäume,
Those you ere planted as children, the trees,
wurden zu schwer längst; ihr trüget sie nicht.
long since become heavy; to lift them is past.
Aber die Lüfte . . . aber die Räume . . .
But for the spaces. . . but for the breezes. . .
[1] O ihr Zärtlichen: Apostrophe, since "ihr Zärtlichen" are being directly addressed. using the second person familiar plural form "ihr." The noun "Zärtlichen," which is formed from the adjective "zärtlich" takes the weak "en" the same as if it were preceeded by the definite article in the nominative: "die Zärtlichen." Duden: "ihr Getreue/ihr Getreuen: Im Nominativ Plural hat sich heute die schwache Deklination gegenüber der starken durchgesetzt. Es muß also heißen: ihr Getreuen." As far as the meter goes, this Sonett is primarily dactylic. For that reason the beginning "O" should be agogically drawn out to encompass two beats. Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction. Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones. Agogic Accent: An accent caused by relative prolongation of the word to be emphasized.
[2] eueren: A form of Epenthesis, since the normally omitted "e" in "eueren" has been retained to forther the primary dactylic meter in this Sonett. Epenthesis: The insertion of a sound in the middle of a word. Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones.
[3] O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen: Second and third examples of Apostrophe with weak endings on the two adjectival nouns with weak endings. Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech.
[4] die ihr: According to Duden: "Bezieht sich ein Relativpronomen auf eine 1. oder 2. Person, dann wird das betreffende Personalpronomen heute meist wiederholt. Das Prädicat richtet sich dann nach der Person des Personalpronomens: 'Du, der du so etwas erlebt hast.'"
[5] verweint: Uninflected adjective placed after the noun according to Duden is an archaic literary technique which after the "Sturm und Drang" period came back into vogue: "Ebenso nach Substantiven, eine archaisierende dichteriche Fügungsweise, die seit der Sturm-und-Drang-Zeit wieder auftenommen wurde: , , , Röslein rot. . . (Goethe)."
[6] die Schwere: Hyperbaton. Direct object for "leiden," in an infinitive phrase surrounded with commas, for emphasis. Normal word order would be "Fürchtet euch nicht, die Schwere zu leiden. . ." Note the repetitions of the adjective "schwer" in verses 11 (2 times) and 13. and Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[7] an der Erde Gewicht: A transposed genetive. According to Duden: "Die Voranstellung von Substantiven, die nicht Namen usw. sind, ist dichterischer Sprachgebrauch und dient der Hervorhebung: 'Das Wunder ist des Glaubens liebstes Kind' " Normal word order would be "an das Gewicht der Erde." the "an" used with "geben" takes the accusative; therefore, the article would be "die" before "Erde." To supplement Duden, in this case the transposition is used to further the rhyme.
[8] schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere: Two examples of an Adoneus, which is the last line of a "Sapphic stanza." Also a mini anaphora with the word "schwer" beginning two successive clauses. According to the German Wictionary, the Adoneus is: "ein aus der Antike stammender Versfuß aus fünf Glieders mit der Form -UU-U. In the Poets Collective website it is called the " Adonic Line" and is "composed in 5 syllables, a dactyl followed by a trochee". Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones. Trochee: A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one short or unstressed syllable. Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs.
[9] Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflänztet, die Bäume: Hyberbaton. A very convoluted word order. Normal would be "Selbst die Bäume, die ihr als Kinder pflanzet, wurden längst zu schwer. . ." Note the parallelism to verse 9, but this verse has an anticipatory direct object "die." Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect. Parallelism: The repetition of identical or similar syntactic patterns in adjacent phrases, clauses or sentences;
[10] trüget: Konjunktiv II of the verb "tragen" (Imperfekt of "tragen" which is "trug" and add Umlaut and Konjunktiv ending "e").
[11] Aber die Lüfte . . . aber die Räume . . .: Similar to verse 11, Footnote 8, this verse contains two examples of an Adonic Line or in German an Adoneus, creating a marked contrast between the heaviness of the mountains and the seas ("schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere") and the lightness of the air and the spaces ("Aber die Lüfte . . . aber die Räume . . ."). As in Sonett 1-II, two ellipses are used in the concluding verse. Adoneus or Adonic Line: According to the German Wictionary, the Adoneus is: "ein aus der Antike stammender Versfuß aus fünf Glieders mit der Form -UU-U. In the Poets Collective website it is called the "Adonic Line" and is "composed in 5 syllables, a dactyl followed by a trochee" Ellipsis, plural ellipses: 2. A mark or series of marks: ( . . . ) for example, used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.