[1] Dir aber, Herr, o was weih ich dir, sag: The meter of this first verse is the normal dactylic meter we have found in previous sonnets, but in the next verse we find a rather unusual anapest "der das OHR den geSCHÖPfen geLEHRT." This anapest then becomes the predominant meter, although in several instances somewhat forced. The beginning of the second quartet is especially problematic when read as "herübER vom dorf KAM der schimMEL allein." All in all the anapest provides an analog to the hobbled gall of the horse. In English the most famous example of a poem written in anapest is "Twas the night before Christmas/and all through the house. . ." In some instances Rilke's language in this sonnet is reminiscent of that of Nietzsche who in Also Sprach Zarathustra wrote in an ecstaticlly dithyrambic prose, that of a prophet. Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones. Anapest: A metrical foot of two short syllables followed by one long.

[2] der das Ohr den Geschöpfen gelehrt? --: An Epanorthosis referring back to the "dir" which refers back to "Herr" which refers to Orpheus who taught not only the humans, but also the creatures of the world his song. Note the Gedankenstrich to emphasize the following preludial interjection. This also is the first clearly anapestic verse of this sonnet. Epanorthosis, pl. -ses: The rephrasing of an immediately preceding word or statement for the purpose of intensification, emphasis or justification. Gedankenstrich: A long horizontal bar which is longer than a hyphen and is used to separate a strong or parenthetical interruption from the rest of the sentence. Anapest: A metrical foot of two short syllables followed by one long.

[3] Mein Erinnern an einen Frühlingstag, seinen Abend in Rußland --: The parenthetical expression's end which is also the prelude to the image of the horse which Rilke dedicates to Orpheus.

[4] ein Pferd . . .: After the parenthetical expression this word is the continuation of the first two verses and the protagonist of the memory which Rilke dedicates to Orpheus. The ellipses are used to give a pause before revealing the whole event. "Pferd" also provides a good rhyme with "gelehrt" at the end of verse 2.

[5] der Schimmel: A white horse which would be more visible at dusk. The only English word similar to "Schimmel" in regard to horses is "albino," although there is no true albino horse. In English one normally uses "white horse," although the color is often closer to gray.

[6] an der vorderen Fessel den Pfloc: It is significant that the "Pflock" which is a "hobble" is only attached to one forelock, since normally "hobbles" are fastened to both forelocks and attached to each other by a short length of rope which acts as the true hobble. Only if the rope were broken, and thereby attached only to one hobble, would the horse be able to gallop, since a correctly attached hobble limits horses to a slowed run.

[7] um die Nacht auf den Wiesen allein zu sein: The purpose 0f the hobble is to allow the horse to be left alone without being able to gallop away. The degree of movement depends on the length of the hobble.

[8] wie schlug seiner Mähne Gelock: An example of the more elevated or poetic usage of the genitive case whereby the posessor precedes the possessed. In English this is the norm, but in German it is mainly used in poetic language or is present in some older expressions such as "aller Laster Anfang." In Dudens Hauptschwierigkeiten it is stated: "Die Voranstellung von Substantiven, die nicht Namen usw. sind, ist dichterischer Sprachgebrauch und dient der Hevorhebung. . . In der Hochsprache ist sie jedoch nicht üblich." Normal German would be "das Gelock seiner Mähne." This verse does not scan, because it is impossible not to accent the long vowel in "Mähne."

[9] an den Hals im Takte des Übermuts: Problematic with this verse is that the Synaloepha of "in" plus "dem" breaks the metrical flow which would otherwise be "an den HALS in dem TAKte des Übermuts." The Synaloepha does, however, speed up the pace of the verse corresponding to the pace of the high spirits taking place, while a regular meter would have been too sing-song. Also note the pleonastic "e" ending on "Takte" to help do so. Synaloepha: Omission of a vowel to contract two words into one such as "don't," "it's." Pleonastic: A superfluous word, phrase or letter.

[10] bei dem grob gehemmten Galopp: Exactly the same metrical irregularity as in the preceding verse with a different cause: the hindered irregularity of the horse's gallop is mirrored in the meter and in the glottal stops before the three alliterative usages of the hard "g" sound. 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.

[11] Wie sprangen die Quellen des Rossebluts!: Here we have example where the preponderance of a metrical pattern over the normal stresses of the words is used to create an almost Nietzschean exuberance. The normal pattern would be "wie SPRANGen die QUELlen des ROSSebluts!" Put into regular anapest it is "wie sprangEn die quelLEN des rossEbluts!" The correct intonation pattern not only breaks the meter but also lack passion. The imposition of the meter over the natural intonation pattern comes across as soraring and passionate.

[12] Der fühlte die Weiten, und ob!: Another verse which could be read with the regular anapastic meter with the comma creating a pause. This verse continues the ecstatic dithyrambic character of the preceding verse and could benefit from the same divergent metrical reading. Note the usage of the demonstrative pronoun to refer the horse.

[13] der sang und der hörte --: Here we have two more uses of the demonstrative pronoun "der," both referring to the horse. Rilke uses the masculine, since the incipient usage of "das Pferd" in verse 4 has been superseded by "der Schimmel" in verse 5 and "der Ross" in "Rossebluts" in verse 11. The first "der" cannot refer to Orpheus, since it would have had to have been "du sangst," since Orpheus is directly addressed in the next words "dein Sagenkreis." Here we have a clear break from the prevailing anapest meter. It could possibly be read as "der sang UND der hörTE--, dein saGEN kreis," but this seems to negate the demonstrative aspect of the two demonstrative pronouns. It must then be read as "DER sang und DER hörte--, DEIN sagenKREIS." which, of course is the other triple meter, the dactylic meter. Note that all three accented words begin with "d" which creates an distant alliteration. Anapest: A metrical foot of two short syllables followed by one long. Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones. 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] war  i n  ihm geschlossen: First note the almost imperceptible usage of Sperrdruck which emphasizes the otherwise unaccented word "i n." Here it is apparent that italics is superior to Sperrdruck usage, since it leaves no room for ambiguity. The beginning of this last verse is singular within the sonnets, because its last part "sein Bild: ich weih's" is placed on another line making this a 15 verse sonnet. No other sonnet in Part I exhibits such an irregularity. In Part II there are several long-lined sonnets, but the lines are continued till the margins and the excess words are placed far enough to the right to reach the margins in order to clarify that the line was too long for the margins of the page. Only in Sonnet XI of Part II does a similar example appear. There are actually four long lines which are continued on the next line abutting the right margin. Verse 8, however, is formatted similar to "sein Bild: ich weih's." The first part is "taumelnden Trauben ins Licht . . ." Then the second part of the verse begins under the "L" of "Licht" and does not reach to the right margin. It reads "Aber auch das ist im Recht." What signifies that this is purposeful and not a type- setting misitake is that the rhyming word "Knecht" in verse 6 is continued in the next line and is abutting the right margin. There is also enough space at the bottom of the page to contain the extra line. The only explanation for these two marked deviations from the normal sonnet form is that thereby Rilke added extra emphasis to the conclusions expressed therein. Were there any question about whether this be the last line is answered by the rhyme between the 13th verse's ending word "Sagenkreis" and the word ending the sonnet "weih's." There is no rhyme with "geschlossen." Sperrdruck: Spaced type formerly used for Italics and found in the poetic works of Rilke. In modern editions replaced with italics.

[15] Sein Bild: ich weih's: The apparent sonnet-breaking 15th verse is a dedication to Orpheus of the image of the shackled, but defiant horse. It is, of course, a highly elliptical statement, but easily assumed from the context. Note the Shakespearean ending with a couplet--"Sagenkreis" rhyming with "weih's." Only in Sonnet XIII with the rhyme of "hiesig" and "riesig" and in Sonnet XIV with "Überflüssen" and "Küssen" do we find couplet endings. Had the 14th verse been written on one line, it would have had the 10 syllables which is still less than verses 4 and 6 which have eleven. Had Rilke not made the Synaloepha of "weih's" this line would also have had 11 syllables. Note the usage of the apostrophe, since "weihs" would have looked ugly on the page and would have been pronounced the same as "weiß." The apostrophe necessitates a drawing out of the dipthong "ei" and an English "z" sound instead of "s." This is especially important because of appropriateness of both in the context of the sonnet. In the first verse Rilke asks the question "was weih ich dir" and the rest of the sonnet explicates what is being dedicated and as the end of the last verse we find not only the answer "Sein Bild, ich weih's," but also the second part of an inclusio. Ellipsis, plural ellipses: 1.a. The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction, but not necessary for understanding. Synaloepha: Omission of a vowel to contract two words into one such as "don't," "it's." Inclusio: an epanalepsis used to mark off a whole passage. Epanalepsis: A repetition of a word or phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence.