When learning about vocal music, it's important to look at the lyrics first to understand why the composer made certain musical choices. This poem has eight stanzas (or individual paragraphs) of text, and it tells the story of a worried father and his dying son on a cold and windy night. Here is the first stanza:Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? // Who rides so late through night and wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; // It is the father with his child;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, // he has the boy close in his arm,
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm. //
he holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

The opening lines of the poem describe a father and his son .

riding on a horse.

Explanation:

The given text is taken from the poem "Erlkönig" written by Goethe. The word "Erlkönig" can be translated as an "Elf King." The poem speaks about the father and a child who are riding late at night. The child is being carried by his father as the child is being assailed by the Elf King.

The father and the child are riding in the late night on a horse as the father tries to save his child from the king but till they reach their destination, the boy is already dead.

So, the opening lines depict a father carrying his child on a horseback.

voracity is the noun corresponding to the adjective voracious, which means (1) eager to consume a great amount of food, or (2) marked by an insatiable appetite. veracity is far more common than the rare voracity, so the latter is sometimes used in place of the former.