{"work":{"slug":"rilke","title":{"source":"Neue Gedichte","translated":"New Poems"},"author":"Rainer Maria Rilke","language":"German","languageCode":"de","url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke"},"unit":{"kind":"poem","number":null,"id":"absaloms-abfall","title":{"source":"Absaloms Abfall","translated":"Absalom's Fall"},"section":"New Poems: The Other Part","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/absaloms-abfall","lines":42},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/eine-sibylle","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/esther","license":"Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.","audioBase":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/","lines":[{"number":1,"label":"1","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l1","source":"Sie hoben sie mit Geblitz:","translation":"They raised them up amid lightning:","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Geblitz","title":"Nominalized noun Geblitz","body":"Geblitz is a noun built from blitzen, 'to flash, to lightning', with the collective ge- prefix, meaning 'lightning, a flashing'. mit Geblitz means 'amid lightning', dative after mit."}],"words":[{"surface":"Sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of hoben","gloss":"They"},{"surface":"hoben","lemma":"heben","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"raised"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"object of hoben","gloss":"them","note":"The identity of ‘sie’ (them) is left deliberately unclear — likely the ceremonial horns, raised in a flash of light before their blast swells the banners in the next lines."},{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hoben","gloss":"amid"},{"surface":"Geblitz","lemma":"Geblitz","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"lightning","note":"A collective noun built with the ‘Ge-’ prefix on ‘Blitz’ (lightning, flash) — 'a blaze of lightning.'"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l2","source":"der Sturm aus den Hörnern schwellte","translation":"the storm out of the horns swelled","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"schwellte","title":"Preterite schwellte","body":"schwellte is the preterite of schwellen, 'to swell'. der Sturm ... schwellte means 'the storm swelled', with aus den Hörnern, 'out of the horns', describing where the swelling sound came from."}],"words":[{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Sturm","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Sturm","lemma":"Sturm","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of schwellte","gloss":"storm"},{"surface":"aus","lemma":"aus","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Sturm","gloss":"out of"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Hörnern","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Hörnern","lemma":"Horn","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on aus","gloss":"horns"},{"surface":"schwellte","lemma":"schwellen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"swelled","note":"Transitive ‘schwellte’ (weak: schwellt/schwellte, 'to make swell') — distinct from intransitive ‘schwillt/schwoll’ ('to swell up' by itself); its object, ‘Fahnen’ (banners), follows two lines down."}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l3","source":"seidene, breitgewellte","translation":"silken, broad-billowing","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"seidene","lemma":"seiden","morphology":"adjective, accusative, plural","role":"depends on Fahnen (s1-l4)","gloss":"silken"},{"surface":"breitgewellte","lemma":"breitgewellt","morphology":"adjective, accusative, plural","role":"coordinate with seidene, depends on Fahnen (s1-l4)","gloss":"broad-billowing"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l4","source":"Fahnen. Der herrlich Erhellte","translation":"banners. The gloriously illumined one","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"der herrlich Erhellte","title":"Nominalized participle Erhellte","body":"Erhellte is the past participle of erhellen, 'to illuminate', used as a noun: 'the illumined one'. Der herrlich Erhellte means 'the gloriously illumined one', herrlich modifying the participle as an adverb before it becomes a noun."}],"words":[{"surface":"Fahnen","lemma":"Fahne","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"object of schwellte (s1-l2)","gloss":"banners"},{"surface":"Der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Erhellte","gloss":"The"},{"surface":"herrlich","lemma":"herrlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Erhellte","gloss":"gloriously"},{"surface":"Erhellte","lemma":"erhellt","morphology":"noun (substantivized participle), nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of nahm (s1-l5)","gloss":"illumined one","note":"Substantivized past participle (‘der Erhellte’ = 'the illumined one') — Absalom himself, lit up in triumph; subject of ‘nahm’ in the next line."}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l5","source":"nahm im hoch offenen Zelte,","translation":"took, in the high open tent,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l5.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"nahm","lemma":"nehmen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"took"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on nahm","gloss":"in the"},{"surface":"hoch","lemma":"hoch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on offenen","gloss":"high"},{"surface":"offenen","lemma":"offen","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Zelte","gloss":"open"},{"surface":"Zelte","lemma":"Zelt","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"tent","note":"Archaic dative singular ending ‘-e’ (not a plural) — Rilke keeps this older form for the verse, as with ‘Rate’ in s3-l1."}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l6","source":"das jauchzendes Volk umstellte,","translation":"which an exulting people ringed about,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"umstellte","title":"Preterite umstellte","body":"umstellte is the preterite of umstellen, 'to surround, to ring about'. das jauchzendes Volk umstellte means 'which an exulting people ringed about', with Volk as the subject and das as the accusative relative pronoun, object of umstellte."}],"words":[{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"object of umstellte (refers back to Zelte, s1-l5)","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"jauchzendes","lemma":"jauchzend","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Volk","gloss":"exulting"},{"surface":"Volk","lemma":"Volk","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of umstellte","gloss":"people"},{"surface":"umstellte","lemma":"umstellen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"ringed about","note":"Inseparable ‘umstellen’ here means 'to surround, encircle' — not the separable ‘úmstellen’, 'to rearrange.'"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"absaloms-abfall-s1-l7","source":"zehn Frauen in Besitz,","translation":"ten women into his possession,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s1-l7.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"zehn","lemma":"zehn","morphology":"numeral","role":"depends on Frauen","gloss":"ten"},{"surface":"Frauen","lemma":"Frau","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"object of nahm (s1-l5)","gloss":"women"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on nahm (idiom: in Besitz nehmen)","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"Besitz","lemma":"Besitz","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"possession","note":"‘in Besitz nehmen’ is the fixed idiom 'to take possession of.'"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"absaloms-abfall-s2-l1","source":"die (gewohnt an des alternden Fürsten","translation":"who (used to the aging prince's","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"des alternden Fürsten","title":"Genitive des Fürsten","body":"des alternden Fürsten is genitive singular, 'of the aging prince'. alternden is the present participle of altern, 'to age', declined here like an adjective before the genitive noun Fürsten, 'prince'."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of wogten (s2-l4)","gloss":"who"},{"surface":"gewohnt","lemma":"gewohnt","morphology":"adjective (predicate, uninflected)","role":"depends on die","gloss":"used to"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on gewohnt","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Fürsten","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"alternden","lemma":"alternd","morphology":"adjective, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Fürsten","gloss":"aging"},{"surface":"Fürsten","lemma":"Fürst","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Nacht (s2-l2) — «des alternden Fürsten» is a genitive modifier of «sparsame Nacht und Tat»; «an» cannot govern a genitive, so Fürsten cannot depend on it","gloss":"prince's"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"absaloms-abfall-s2-l2","source":"sparsame Nacht und Tat)","translation":"sparing night and deed)","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"sparsame","lemma":"sparsam","morphology":"adjective, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Nacht","gloss":"sparing"},{"surface":"Nacht","lemma":"Nacht","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on an (s2-l1)","gloss":"night"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Nacht","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"Tat","lemma":"Tat","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"deed"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"absaloms-abfall-s2-l3","source":"unter seinem Dürsten","translation":"beneath his thirsting","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Dürsten","title":"Nominalized infinitive Dürsten","body":"Dürsten is the infinitive of dürsten, 'to thirst', used as a neuter noun, 'thirsting'. unter seinem Dürsten means 'beneath his thirsting', dative after unter, seinem agreeing with the neuter noun."}],"words":[{"surface":"unter","lemma":"unter","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on wogten (s2-l4)","gloss":"beneath"},{"surface":"seinem","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Dürsten","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Dürsten","lemma":"dürsten","morphology":"noun (nominalized infinitive), dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on unter","gloss":"thirsting","note":"‘Dürsten’ is the infinitive ‘dürsten’ (to thirst) capitalized into a neuter noun — 'thirsting, thirst.'"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"absaloms-abfall-s2-l4","source":"wogten wie Sommersaat.","translation":"they surged like summer corn.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"wogten wie Sommersaat","title":"Preterite wogten, surged","body":"wogten is the preterite of wogen, 'to surge, to wave'. wie Sommersaat compares the surging to summer corn swaying in a field, wie here meaning 'like' rather than 'how'."}],"words":[{"surface":"wogten","lemma":"wogen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"surged"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"conjunction (comparative)","role":"depends on wogten","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"Sommersaat","lemma":"Sommersaat","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on wie","gloss":"summer corn"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"absaloms-abfall-s3-l1","source":"Dann trat er heraus zum Rate,","translation":"Then he stepped out to the council,","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"trat … heraus","title":"Separable verb heraustreten","body":"heraustreten, 'to step out', is separable. trat, the preterite of treten, 'to step', carries its prefix heraus to the end of the clause: trat er heraus, 'he stepped out'. zum Rate means 'to the council'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Dann","lemma":"dann","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on trat","gloss":"Then"},{"surface":"trat","lemma":"heraustreten","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"stepped"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of trat","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"heraus","lemma":"heraus","morphology":"particle, separable verb prefix","role":"separable prefix of trat","gloss":"out","note":"Separable ‘heraustreten’ splits at the simple past and ‘heraus’ detaches from ‘trat’, but it is not clause-final here — ‘zum Rate’ still follows it. Plain prose would be 'trat er zum Rate heraus'; Rilke's order is inverted for rhyme."},{"surface":"zum","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on trat","gloss":"to the"},{"surface":"Rate","lemma":"Rat","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on zum","gloss":"council"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"absaloms-abfall-s3-l2","source":"wie vermindert um nichts,","translation":"as if diminished by nothing,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"vermindert um nichts","title":"um nichts, by nothing","body":"um nichts means 'by nothing at all'. vermindert um nichts, 'diminished by nothing', uses um to mark the amount of a change, here zero. wie here introduces a comparison without a real cause."}],"words":[{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"conjunction (comparative)","role":"depends on vermindert","gloss":"as if"},{"surface":"vermindert","lemma":"vermindern","morphology":"verb, past participle (elliptical predicate)","role":"depends on trat (s3-l1); elliptical — 'as if [he were] diminished'","gloss":"diminished"},{"surface":"um","lemma":"um","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on vermindert","gloss":"by"},{"surface":"nichts","lemma":"nichts","morphology":"pronoun, neuter","role":"depends on um","gloss":"nothing"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"absaloms-abfall-s3-l3","source":"und jeder, der ihm nahte,","translation":"and each one who drew near to him","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"der ihm nahte","title":"Preterite nahte plus dative","body":"nahte is the preterite of nahen, 'to draw near, to approach', which takes a dative object: der ihm nahte means 'who drew near to him'. der is the relative pronoun, subject of the clause; ihm is dative, the person approached."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on erblindete (s3-l4)","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"jeder","lemma":"jeder","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of erblindete (s3-l4)","gloss":"each one"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of nahte","gloss":"who"},{"surface":"ihm","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on nahte","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"nahte","lemma":"nahen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"predicate of the relative clause modifying jeder ('der ihm nahte' = 'who drew near to him'); not the main verb of the sentence — that is «erblindete» (s3-l4), of which jeder is the subject","gloss":"drew near"}]},{"number":15,"label":"15","id":"absaloms-abfall-s3-l4","source":"erblindete seines Lichts.","translation":"went blind from his light.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s3-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"erblindete seines Lichts","title":"Genitive object with erblinden","body":"erblinden, 'to go blind', here takes a genitive object rather than a preposition: erblindete seines Lichts means 'went blind from his light'. This older use of the genitive to mark a cause is now rare in modern German."}],"words":[{"surface":"erblindete","lemma":"erblinden","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence; subject is jeder (s3-l3)","gloss":"went blind"},{"surface":"seines","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Lichts","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Lichts","lemma":"Licht","morphology":"noun, genitive, neuter, singular","role":"depends on erblindete","gloss":"light","note":"Genitive of cause (archaic): 'blind from his light' — like ‘Hungers sterben’, 'to die of hunger.'"}]},{"number":16,"label":"16","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l1","source":"So zog er auch den Heeren","translation":"So he marched too before the armies,","stanza":4,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zog … den Heeren voran","title":"Separable verb voranziehen","body":"voranziehen, 'to march ahead, to lead the way', is separable: zog, the preterite of ziehen, carries voran to the end of the clause, completed in the next line. den Heeren is dative plural, 'before the armies', the group he marched ahead of."}],"words":[{"surface":"So","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on zog","gloss":"So"},{"surface":"zog","lemma":"voranziehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence, separable prefix voran in the next line","gloss":"marched"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of zog","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"auch","lemma":"auch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on zog","gloss":"too"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Heeren","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Heeren","lemma":"Heer","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on voran (s4-l2)","gloss":"armies"}]},{"number":17,"label":"17","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l2","source":"voran wie ein Stern dem Jahr;","translation":"ahead, like a star before the year;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"wie ein Stern dem Jahr","title":"Dative dem Jahr in comparison","body":"wie ein Stern dem Jahr compares him to a star that goes ahead of the year, with dem Jahr in the dative because voran, 'ahead', takes a dative object, the thing led. Jahr names a star that leads or opens a new year."}],"words":[{"surface":"voran","lemma":"voran","morphology":"particle, separable verb prefix","role":"separable prefix of zog (s4-l1)","gloss":"ahead"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"conjunction (comparative)","role":"depends on Stern","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Stern","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Stern","lemma":"Stern","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"star","note":"Elliptical simile: ‘wie ein Stern dem Jahr [vorangeht]’ — 'as a star goes before the year' — the verb is understood, carried over from ‘voran’ in the previous line."},{"surface":"dem","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Jahr","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Jahr","lemma":"Jahr","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on voran (s4-l1)","gloss":"year"}]},{"number":18,"label":"18","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l3","source":"über allen Speeren","translation":"above all the spears","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l3.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"über","lemma":"über","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on wehte (s4-l4)","gloss":"above"},{"surface":"allen","lemma":"aller","morphology":"determiner, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Speeren","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"Speeren","lemma":"Speer","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on über","gloss":"spears"}]},{"number":19,"label":"19","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l4","source":"wehte sein warmes Haar,","translation":"streamed his warm hair,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l4.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"wehte","lemma":"wehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"streamed"},{"surface":"sein","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haar","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"warmes","lemma":"warm","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haar","gloss":"warm"},{"surface":"Haar","lemma":"Haar","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of wehte","gloss":"hair"}]},{"number":20,"label":"20","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l5","source":"das der Helm nicht faßte","translation":"which the helmet could not contain","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"das der Helm nicht faßte","title":"Preterite faßte, contained","body":"faßte is the preterite of fassen, here meaning 'to hold, to contain'. das der Helm nicht faßte means 'which the helmet did not contain', das the accusative relative pronoun standing for something too large for the helmet."}],"words":[{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"object of faßte (refers back to Haar, s4-l4)","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Helm","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Helm","lemma":"Helm","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of faßte","gloss":"helmet"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on faßte","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"faßte","lemma":"fassen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"contained"}]},{"number":21,"label":"21","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l6","source":"und das er manchmal haßte,","translation":"and which he sometimes hated,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l6.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on faßte (s4-l5)","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"object of haßte (refers back to Haar, s4-l4)","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of haßte","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"manchmal","lemma":"manchmal","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on haßte","gloss":"sometimes"},{"surface":"haßte","lemma":"hassen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"hated"}]},{"number":22,"label":"22","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l7","source":"weil es schwerer war","translation":"because it was heavier","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"weil es schwerer war","title":"Subordinating conjunction weil","body":"weil, 'because', introduces a subordinate clause and sends its finite verb, war, to the very end: weil es schwerer war means 'because it was heavier'. es refers to something named just before this clause."}],"words":[{"surface":"weil","lemma":"weil","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on war","gloss":"because"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of war (refers to Haar, s4-l4)","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"schwerer","lemma":"schwer","morphology":"adjective, comparative (predicate)","role":"depends on war","gloss":"heavier"},{"surface":"war","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was"}]},{"number":23,"label":"23","id":"absaloms-abfall-s4-l8","source":"als seine reichsten Kleider.","translation":"than his richest robes.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s4-l8.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"conjunction (comparative)","role":"depends on schwerer (s4-l7)","gloss":"than"},{"surface":"seine","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, plural","role":"depends on Kleider","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"reichsten","lemma":"reich","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, plural, superlative","role":"depends on Kleider","gloss":"richest"},{"surface":"Kleider","lemma":"Kleid","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on als","gloss":"robes"}]},{"number":24,"label":"24","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l1","source":"Der König hatte geboten,","translation":"The king had commanded","stanza":5,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"hatte geboten","title":"Pluperfect hatte geboten","body":"hatte geboten is the pluperfect, past perfect, of gebieten, 'to command', built from hatte plus the participle geboten. It marks an order given before the events described around it: the king had commanded."}],"words":[{"surface":"Der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on König","gloss":"The"},{"surface":"König","lemma":"König","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of hatte","gloss":"king"},{"surface":"hatte","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"had"},{"surface":"geboten","lemma":"gebieten","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on hatte","gloss":"commanded"}]},{"number":25,"label":"25","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l2","source":"daß man den Schönen schone.","translation":"that the beautiful one be spared.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"daß man den Schönen schone","title":"Present subjunctive schone","body":"schone is the present subjunctive, Konjunktiv I, of schonen, 'to spare'. It follows daß in reported command: daß man den Schönen schone means 'that the beautiful one be spared'. den Schönen is schön used as a noun, 'the beautiful one', accusative."}],"words":[{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on schone","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"man","lemma":"man","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"subject of schone","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Schönen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Schönen","lemma":"schön","morphology":"noun (substantivized adjective), accusative, masculine, singular","role":"object of schone","gloss":"beautiful one","note":"‘der Schöne’ — nominalized adjective, 'the beautiful one' — refers to Absalom."},{"surface":"schone","lemma":"schonen","morphology":"verb, present subjunctive I, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"spare","note":"Present subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I), reporting the king's command indirectly: 'that they spare …' — not a proper name, despite the tagger's guess."}]},{"number":26,"label":"26","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l3","source":"Doch man sah ihn ohne","translation":"Yet they saw him, without","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l3.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Doch","lemma":"doch","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on sah","gloss":"Yet"},{"surface":"man","lemma":"man","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"subject of sah","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"sah","lemma":"sehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"saw"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on sah","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"ohne","lemma":"ohne","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on sah","gloss":"without"}]},{"number":27,"label":"27","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l4","source":"Helm an den bedrohten","translation":"a helmet, at the threatened","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ohne / Helm","title":"Sentence runs across lines","body":"The sentence continues from the line before without pausing at the line break, a device called enjambment. Helm, 'helmet', is the object introduced there; an den bedrohten continues into the following line with the noun it modifies."}],"words":[{"surface":"Helm","lemma":"Helm","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on ohne (s5-l3)","gloss":"helmet","note":"Rilke splits ‘ohne Helm’ ('without a helmet') across the line break; German uses no article here — bare 'without helmet.'"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on sah (s5-l3)","gloss":"at"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Orten (continues beyond this batch)","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"bedrohten","lemma":"bedroht","morphology":"adjective, dative, plural","role":"depends on Orten (continues beyond this batch)","gloss":"threatened"}]},{"number":28,"label":"28","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l5","source":"Orten die ärgsten Knoten","translation":"places hewing the fiercest knots","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"die ärgsten Knoten","title":"Superlative ärgsten","body":"ärgsten is the superlative of arg, 'bad, fierce', meaning 'fiercest, worst'. die ärgsten Knoten means 'the fiercest knots', accusative plural, describing the hardest tangles to be cut through."}],"words":[{"surface":"Orten","lemma":"Ort","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, plural","role":"adverbial dative ('in places'), depends on auseinanderhaun","gloss":"in places","note":"Archaic poetic dative of 'Ort' used without a preposition, meaning 'in places, here and there.'"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, plural","role":"depends on Knoten","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"ärgsten","lemma":"arg","morphology":"adjective, accusative, masculine, plural, superlative","role":"depends on Knoten","gloss":"fiercest"},{"surface":"Knoten","lemma":"Knoten","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, plural","role":"object of auseinanderhaun","gloss":"knots"}]},{"number":29,"label":"29","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l6","source":"zu roten Stücken von Toten","translation":"into red pieces of the dead","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l6.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on auseinanderhaun","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"roten","lemma":"rot","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Stücken","gloss":"red"},{"surface":"Stücken","lemma":"Stück","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"pieces"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Stücken","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"Toten","lemma":"Tote","morphology":"noun (substantivized adjective), dative, plural","role":"depends on von","gloss":"the dead"}]},{"number":30,"label":"30","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l7","source":"auseinanderhaun.","translation":"cut wide apart.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"auseinanderhaun","title":"Compound verb auseinanderhauen","body":"auseinanderhauen combines auseinander, 'apart', and hauen, 'to hew, to chop', meaning 'to cut apart, to hack apart'. auseinanderhaun is a shortened verse form of the plural present auseinanderhauen, 'they cut apart'."}],"words":[{"surface":"auseinanderhaun","lemma":"auseinanderhauen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence (subject given in stanza 5, lines 1-4, outside this excerpt)","gloss":"cut apart","note":"Colloquial contraction of 'auseinanderhauen': the medial unstressed -e- is elided (hauen becomes haun), the same pattern as gehen becomes gehn, sehen becomes sehn; the final -n is retained, so this is syncope, not apocope of the '-en' ending."}]},{"number":31,"label":"31","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l8","source":"Dann wußte lange keiner","translation":"Then for a long time no one knew","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l8.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"wußte lange keiner","title":"Pronoun keiner, no one","body":"keiner means 'no one, none', nominative masculine singular, the subject of wußte, 'knew'. wußte is the preterite of wissen, 'to know'. lange means 'for a long time', modifying how long no one knew."}],"words":[{"surface":"Dann","lemma":"dann","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on wußte","gloss":"Then"},{"surface":"wußte","lemma":"wissen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"knew"},{"surface":"lange","lemma":"lange","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on wußte","gloss":"for a long time"},{"surface":"keiner","lemma":"keiner","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of wußte","gloss":"no one"}]},{"number":32,"label":"32","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l9","source":"von ihm, bis plötzlich einer","translation":"of him, until suddenly someone","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l9.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on wußte (previous line)","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"ihm","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on von","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"bis","lemma":"bis","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on schrie (next line)","gloss":"until"},{"surface":"plötzlich","lemma":"plötzlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on schrie (next line)","gloss":"suddenly"},{"surface":"einer","lemma":"einer","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of schrie (next line)","gloss":"someone"}]},{"number":33,"label":"33","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l10","source":"schrie: Er hängt dort hinten","translation":"cried: He's hanging back there","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l10.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"schrie","lemma":"schreien","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"cried"},{"surface":"Er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of hängt","gloss":"He"},{"surface":"hängt","lemma":"hängen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the quoted sentence","gloss":"is hanging"},{"surface":"dort","lemma":"dort","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on hängt","gloss":"there"},{"surface":"hinten","lemma":"hinten","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on hängt","gloss":"in the back"}]},{"number":34,"label":"34","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l11","source":"an den Terebinthen","translation":"in the terebinths","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l11.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hängt (previous line)","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Terebinthen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Terebinthen","lemma":"Terebinthe","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on an","gloss":"terebinths"}]},{"number":35,"label":"35","id":"absaloms-abfall-s5-l12","source":"mit hochgezogenen Braun.","translation":"with his eyebrows drawn up high.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s5-l12.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"hochgezogenen Braun","title":"Archaic plural Braun","body":"Braun here is an old plural form of Braue, 'eyebrow', now normally Brauen. mit hochgezogenen Braun means 'with eyebrows drawn up high', dative plural after mit, hochgezogenen the past participle of hochziehen, 'to draw up'."}],"words":[{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hängt (s5-l10)","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"hochgezogenen","lemma":"hochgezogen","morphology":"adjective, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Braun","gloss":"drawn up"},{"surface":"Braun","lemma":"Braue","morphology":"noun (archaic plural), dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"eyebrows","note":"Archaic/poetic plural of 'Braue' (eyebrow) — not the color brown."}]},{"number":36,"label":"36","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l1","source":"Das war genug des Winks.","translation":"That was hint enough.","stanza":6,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"genug des Winks","title":"genug plus genitive","body":"genug, 'enough', can take a genitive object in older or formal German: genug des Winks means 'enough of the hint'. Modern usage more often says genug Wink or genug an Wink. Winks is the genitive of Wink, 'hint, sign'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Das","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of war","gloss":"That"},{"surface":"war","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was"},{"surface":"genug","lemma":"genug","morphology":"pronoun","role":"depends on war","gloss":"enough"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Winks","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"Winks","lemma":"Wink","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on genug","gloss":"hint"}]},{"number":37,"label":"37","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l2","source":"Joab, wie ein Jäger,","translation":"Joab, like a hunter,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Joab","lemma":"Joab","morphology":"proper noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of erspähte (next line)","gloss":"Joab"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces comparison, depends on Joab","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Jäger","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Jäger","lemma":"Jäger","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on wie","gloss":"hunter"}]},{"number":38,"label":"38","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l3","source":"erspähte das Haar–: ein schräger","translation":"spied the hair—: a slanting,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"erspähte","title":"Preterite erspähte","body":"erspähte is the preterite of erspähen, 'to spy, to catch sight of'. das Haar is its accusative object, 'the hair'. The sentence breaks off after a dash, then restarts describing what was spied: ein schräger, gedrehter Ast, 'a slanting, twisted branch'."}],"words":[{"surface":"erspähte","lemma":"erspähen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"spied"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haar–","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Haar–","lemma":"Haar","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on erspähte","gloss":"hair"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on schräger","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"schräger","lemma":"schräg","morphology":"adjective, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Ast (next line)","gloss":"slanting"}]},{"number":39,"label":"39","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l4","source":"gedrehter Ast: da hings.","translation":"twisted branch: there it hung.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"da hings","title":"Contraction hings","body":"hings fuses hing, the preterite of hängen, 'to hang', with the enclitic pronoun es, 'it': hings means 'it hung'. This kind of contraction is common in spoken and verse German after a verb ending in a vowel-like sound."}],"words":[{"surface":"gedrehter","lemma":"gedreht","morphology":"adjective, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Ast","gloss":"twisted"},{"surface":"Ast","lemma":"Ast","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase, appositive to Haar (s6-l3)","gloss":"branch"},{"surface":"da","lemma":"da","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on hings","gloss":"there"},{"surface":"hings","lemma":"hängen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular, with enclitic 'es'","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"it hung","note":"Colloquial contraction of 'hing es' (it hung)."}]},{"number":40,"label":"40","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l5","source":"Er durchrannte den schlanken Kläger,","translation":"He ran the slender plaintiff through,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"durchrannte den … Kläger","title":"Preterite durchrannte","body":"durchrannte is the preterite of durchrennen, 'to run through, to run someone through', here meaning he pierced the man by running him through. den ... Kläger is its accusative object, 'the plaintiff'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of durchrannte","gloss":"He"},{"surface":"durchrannte","lemma":"durchrennen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"ran through"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Kläger","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"schlanken","lemma":"schlank","morphology":"adjective, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Kläger","gloss":"slender"},{"surface":"Kläger","lemma":"Kläger","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on durchrannte","gloss":"plaintiff","note":"'Kläger' literally means 'plaintiff/accuser' — Rilke's ironic term for Absalom, who had claimed his father's throne."}]},{"number":41,"label":"41","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l6","source":"und seine Waffenträger","translation":"and his armor-bearers","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Waffenträger","title":"Compound noun Waffenträger","body":"Waffenträger combines Waffe, 'weapon', and Träger, 'bearer, carrier', meaning 'armor-bearer, weapon-bearer'. seine Waffenträger, nominative plural, names the men who carried Absalom's weapons and joined in the killing."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"coordinates clauses (durchrannte / durchbohrten)","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"seine","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Waffenträger","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Waffenträger","lemma":"Waffenträger","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"subject of durchbohrten (next line)","gloss":"armor-bearers"}]},{"number":42,"label":"42","id":"absaloms-abfall-s6-l7","source":"durchbohrten ihn rechts und links.","translation":"pierced him right and left.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/absaloms-abfall-s6-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"durchbohrten","title":"Preterite durchbohrten","body":"durchbohrten is the third person plural preterite of durchbohren, 'to pierce through, to run through'. ihn is its accusative object, 'him'. rechts und links, 'right and left', describes the two sides they struck from."}],"words":[{"surface":"durchbohrten","lemma":"durchbohren","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"pierced"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on durchbohrten","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"rechts","lemma":"rechts","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on durchbohrten","gloss":"on the right"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on rechts","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"links","lemma":"links","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on und","gloss":"on the left"}]}]}