[1] Voller: German manner of saying "full of" irrespective of gender or number: voller Milch, voller Schmutz, voller Frauen, usw." One can also say "voll von" with the dative case. This is the first of three consecutive sonnets dedicated to fruits.

[2] . . . : There are three uses of the ellipsis in the first three lines of this sonnet. In this case the ellipsis is a more modern usage indicating the inexpressiveness of the emotion elicited. The second after "Tod und Leben in den Mund" has a similar function. The third after "Ich ahne" is the more conventional usage indicating words omitted. Ellipsis: A mark or series of marks: ( . . . ) for example, used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.

[3] spricht: An unusual transitive use of "sprechen;" normally, "sprechen" is used with the dative idiomatically: "Ich möchte dir sprechen" for "I would like to speak to you." It is also used to mean "to express" i.e "aus seinen Worten spricht Begeisterung." Used with "in" plus the accusative "den" before a masculing noun "spricht" here is used transitively indicating motion, literally having the taste of the fruits "speaking" into the mouth creating a paradoxical synaesthetic conjunction of speaking and tasting. Synaesthesia: A sensation produced in one modality when a stimulas is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.

[4] Tod und Leben: The order of these two words indicates that the death of the fruit creates new life in the person eating the fruit which indicates a similarity to the wafer taking during communion in the Catholic Church.

[5] Lest es einem Kind vom Angesicht: The missing "ie" before the "t" indicates that the verb is the imperative form of the Plural "ihr" form, which is then continued throughout the sonnet. The "einem" is a dative of reference indicating a possessive. Note that Rilke does not use an explanation point after the command as is usual in German punctuation. It appears that Rilke follows the English usage and uses this punctuation mark only to express extreme emotion.

[6] erschmeckt: A highly unusual usage of the prefix "er" which indicates "achievement of the aim set by the action." An obvious and relevant example is the verb "aufstehen" means to "get up" and "auferstehen" means to "rise from the dead" or "resurrect." This prefix continues the quasi-religious action of "causing life and death into the mouth." Note the usage of "erstehen" in Sonnet II: "Sieh, sie erstand und schlief."

[7] Dies kommt von weit: The "kommt von weit" is a semi-idiomatic usage indicating that the child's expression caused by the quasi-religious action of tasting a fruit is "far out."

[8] euch: The continued usage of the "ihr" form following "lest" and as in the first example a dative of reference indicating possession, but in a question form and not as an imperative. The readers are now invited to share the same experience as the child in the first quartet.

[9] namenlos: As in Sonnet XI the word "namenlos" is used to mean "inexpressible."

[10] fließen Funde,/aus dem Fruchtfleisch überrascht befreit: Fourfold alliteration of "f" and an added consonance of "r" in "Fruchtfleisch überrascht befreit." Alliteration: The repetition of the sound of an initial consonant or consonant cluster in stressed syllables close enough to each other for the ear to be affected. Consonance: The corolary to assonance but for consonants. Assonance: Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words.

[11] Wagt zu sagen: Another "ihr" form command without an exclamation point. The normal anticipatory "es" before a verbal phrase is also lacking.

[12] Diese Süße, die sich erst verdichtet,/um, im Schmecken leise aufgerichtet,/klar zu werden, wach und transparent,/doppeldeutig, sonnig, erdig hiesig--: A complicated elliptically constructed sentence, since the actual verb "werden" is subsumed in an infinitive phrase "klar zu werden." Also to be noted is the unusual "substantivierter Infinitiv" "Schmecken" preceded with "im" which is the contraction of "in" plus "dem." In German this is the way of expressing "while" or "when" plus a present participle in English. The preposition plus article "beim" can also be used. Note the use of the hyphen followed with a colon to indicate first the parenthetical nature of the following exhortations "O Erfahrung, Fühlung, Freude--," and secondly the ecstatic summation "riesig!" following the --,. Here Rilke uses the exclamation point to highlight the emotion. Note that the last four characteristics all end in "ig" creating an assonance, the last of these, "hiesig," rhyming with the "riesig" in the last verse. To be noted is the use of polysndeton in this and the following listing. Ellipsis, plural ellipses: 1.a. The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction, but not necessary for understanding. Assonance: Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words.

[13] O Erfahrung, Fühlung, Freude --,: The parenthetical ecstatic penultimate summation in apostrophe form of the preceding 7 characteristics of the sweetness of the apple. These three characteristics are governed by the -- part of the --: punctuation. Note also the threefold Alliteration of the letter "f." Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction. Alliteration: The repetition of the sound of an initial consonant or consonant cluster in stressed syllables close enough to each other for the ear to be affected.

[14] riesig!: The ultimate summation of the action of tasting an apple goverened by the : part of the --: and emphasised by the exclamation point thereafter. Note also that this is the first Sonnet to end with a Shakespearean couplet. Couplet: Two contiguous lines of verse which function as a metrical unit and are so marked (usually) either by rhyme or by syntax or both.

[A]Munde: Pleonastic addition of "e" to "Mund" to aid the rhyme.