{"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":"abschied","title":{"source":"Abschied","translated":"Parting"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/abschied","lines":12},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/in-einem-fremden-park","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/todeserfahrung","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":"abschied-s1-l1","source":"Wie hab ich das gefühlt, was Abschied heißt.","translation":"How I have felt that thing called parting.","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"was Abschied heißt","title":"heißen meaning to be called","body":"heißen here means 'to be called, to be named', not 'to be called out'. was Abschied heißt means 'that which is called parting', with was as the subject of heißt and Abschied as what it names."}],"words":[{"surface":"Wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on gefühlt","gloss":"How"},{"surface":"hab","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"have"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on hab","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on gefühlt","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"gefühlt","lemma":"fühlen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on hab","gloss":"felt"},{"surface":"was","lemma":"was","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on heißt","gloss":"what"},{"surface":"Abschied","lemma":"Abschied","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on heißt","gloss":"parting"},{"surface":"heißt","lemma":"heißen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"is called"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"abschied-s1-l2","source":"Wie weiß ichs noch: ein dunkles unverwundnes","translation":"How I still know it: a dark, unhealed,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"weiß ichs","title":"A colloquial contraction of ich es","body":"ichs contracts ich es, 'I it', a colloquial fusion common in spoken and poetic German. weiß ichs noch means 'I still know it', with weiß as the first-person present of wissen, 'to know'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"unverwundnes","title":"A shortened negated past participle","body":"unverwundnes is a shortened form of unverwundenes, the negated past participle of verwinden, 'to get over, overcome'. It means 'unhealed, not gotten over', describing a wound of feeling rather than a physical injury."}],"words":[{"surface":"Wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"How"},{"surface":"weiß","lemma":"wissen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"know"},{"surface":"ichs","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"I it","note":"'ichs' is a colloquial contraction of 'ich es' (I it)."},{"surface":"noch","lemma":"noch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"still"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on unverwundnes","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"dunkles","lemma":"dunkel","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on unverwundnes","gloss":"dark"},{"surface":"unverwundnes","lemma":"verwinden","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Etwas","gloss":"unhealed","note":"The -nes ending (elided from 'unverwundenes') is the strong participle of 'verwinden' (to get over/overcome), matching the gloss 'unhealed'. 'unverwundet' derives from the weak verb 'verwunden' (to wound) — a different word — and would contradict the given gloss (an unwounded thing isn't 'unhealed')."}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"abschied-s1-l3","source":"grausames Etwas, das ein Schönverbundnes","translation":"cruel Something that holds a beautifully-bound thing","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ein dunkles … Etwas","title":"ein dunkles... Etwas","body":"Etwas, capitalized, is used here as a noun meaning 'a Something', an unnamed force. grausames Etwas means 'cruel Something', with grausames agreeing with the neuter noun in the nominative, and das introducing a relative clause describing it."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Schönverbundnes","title":"A coined compound noun","body":"Schönverbundnes is a coined compound noun from schön, 'beautiful', and verbunden, the past participle of verbinden, 'to bind, join together'. It means 'a beautifully-bound thing', naming what the cruel Something holds and then tears apart."}],"words":[{"surface":"grausames","lemma":"grausam","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Etwas","gloss":"cruel"},{"surface":"Etwas","lemma":"Etwas","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"Something"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Etwas, subject of zeigt","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Schönverbundnes","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Schönverbundnes","lemma":"Schönverbundenes","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on zeigt","gloss":"beautifully-bound thing"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"abschied-s1-l4","source":"noch einmal zeigt und hinhält und zerreißt.","translation":"once more, shows it and holds it out and tears it apart.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"hinhält","title":"Holding something out","body":"hinhalten means 'to hold something out, extend it toward someone'. hinhält is its present-tense, third-person form, one of three verbs, one of three verbs (zeigt, hinhält, zerreißt) describing the same cruel Something acting on the beautifully-bound thing."}],"words":[{"surface":"noch","lemma":"noch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on einmal","gloss":"once"},{"surface":"einmal","lemma":"einmal","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on zeigt","gloss":"more"},{"surface":"zeigt","lemma":"zeigen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"shows"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on zeigt","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"hinhält","lemma":"hinhalten","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"holds out","note":"Left as the inflected surface form 'hinhält' rather than normalized to the infinitive, unlike the parallel fixes made elsewhere in this same output (gingst->gehen, siehst->sehen, zuzuschauen->zuschauen, stehst->stehen)."},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on hinhält","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"zerreißt","lemma":"zerreißen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"tears apart"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"abschied-s2-l1","source":"Wie war ich ohne Wehr, dem zuzuschauen,","translation":"How defenseless I was, watching it,","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ohne Wehr","title":"Without any defense","body":"die Wehr means 'defense, resistance'. ohne Wehr means 'without defense, defenseless', with ohne taking the accusative. It describes the speaker's state while watching what happens next."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"dem zuzuschauen","title":"An infinitive for watching it","body":"zuschauen means 'to watch, look on'; zu is inserted before the verb stem to form the infinitive, zuzuschauen. dem, dative, refers back to the scene just described, so dem zuzuschauen means 'to watch it, watching that'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on war","gloss":"How"},{"surface":"war","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on war","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"ohne","lemma":"ohne","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on war","gloss":"without"},{"surface":"Wehr","lemma":"Wehr","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on ohne","gloss":"defense"},{"surface":"dem","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on zuzuschauen","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"zuzuschauen","lemma":"zuschauen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on war","gloss":"watching"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"abschied-s2-l2","source":"das, da es mich, mich rufend, gehen ließ,","translation":"which, as it, calling me, calling, let me go,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"da es … gehen ließ","title":"da, causal 'as, since'","body":"da here means 'as, since', introducing the reason for what follows, not a place. da es mich... gehen ließ means 'as it let me go', with es as the subject and gehen ließ, 'let go', as its verb, split by the parenthetical mich rufend."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"mich rufend","title":"A participle inserted mid-clause","body":"rufend is the present participle of rufen, 'to call'; mich, 'me', is its object. mich rufend means 'calling me', inserted as an aside between es and gehen ließ, describing how it acted even as it let the speaker go."}],"words":[{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ließ","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"da","lemma":"da","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on ließ","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ließ","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on rufend","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on rufend","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"rufend","lemma":"rufen","morphology":"verb, present participle","role":"depends on es","gloss":"calling"},{"surface":"gehen","lemma":"gehen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on ließ","gloss":"go"},{"surface":"ließ","lemma":"lassen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"let"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"abschied-s2-l3","source":"zurückblieb, so als wärens alle Frauen","translation":"stayed behind, as if it were all women","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"als wärens","title":"A contraction, they were","body":"wärens contracts wären es, 'they were'. so als wärens alle Frauen means 'as though it were all women', using Subjunctive II with a plural verb, wären, because the intended sense is plural, 'all women', even though es itself is singular."}],"words":[{"surface":"zurückblieb","lemma":"zurückbleiben","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on das, coordinate with ließ","gloss":"stayed behind"},{"surface":"so","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on zurückblieb","gloss":"so"},{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on wärens","gloss":"as if"},{"surface":"wärens","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"were","note":"'wärens' is a contraction of 'wären es' (were it/they)."},{"surface":"alle","lemma":"aller","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Frauen","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"Frauen","lemma":"Frau","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on wärens","gloss":"women"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"abschied-s2-l4","source":"und dennoch klein und weiß und nichts als dies:","translation":"and yet small and white and nothing but this:","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"nichts als dies","title":"Nothing but this","body":"nichts als means 'nothing but, only'. nichts als dies means 'nothing but this', with dies, 'this', as the pronoun that closes the sentence after a list of what remains: klein und weiß, 'small and white'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on klein","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"dennoch","lemma":"dennoch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on klein","gloss":"yet"},{"surface":"klein","lemma":"klein","morphology":"adjective, predicate","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"small"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on klein","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"weiß","lemma":"weiß","morphology":"adjective, predicate","role":"depends on klein","gloss":"white","note":"\"weiß\" here is the adjective \"white,\" coordinated with \"klein\" — not the verb \"wissen\" (to know), which has the identical form."},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"nichts","lemma":"nichts","morphology":"pronoun, neuter","role":"depends on und","gloss":"nothing"},{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on nichts","gloss":"but"},{"surface":"dies","lemma":"dieser","morphology":"pronoun, neuter, singular","role":"depends on als","gloss":"this"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"abschied-s3-l1","source":"Ein Winken, schon nicht mehr auf mich bezogen,","translation":"A wave of the hand, already no longer meant for me,","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ein Winken","title":"An infinitive turned into a wave","body":"Winken is the infinitive of winken, 'to wave', used here as a neuter noun: 'a waving, a wave [of the hand]'. It is the subject of the sentence, described further by the participle bezogen two words later."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"auf mich bezogen","title":"Directed at, meant for","body":"bezogen is the past participle of beziehen, used here to mean 'directed at, meant for'. auf mich bezogen means 'directed at me, meant for me', describing the wave as no longer aimed at the speaker."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Winken","gloss":"A"},{"surface":"Winken","lemma":"Winken","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"wave"},{"surface":"schon","lemma":"schon","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nicht","gloss":"already"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on bezogen","gloss":"not","note":"\"nicht\" means \"not\" — it negates a verb/clause. \"no\" (as an isolated negation) is \"nein\"/\"kein\" in German. \"nicht mehr\" together idiomatically = \"no longer,\" but the word \"nicht\" itself is never \"no.\""},{"surface":"mehr","lemma":"mehr","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nicht","gloss":"longer"},{"surface":"auf","lemma":"auf","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on bezogen","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on auf","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"bezogen","lemma":"beziehen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on Winken","gloss":"meant"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"abschied-s3-l2","source":"ein leise Weiterwinkendes–, schon kaum","translation":"a softly going-on-waving thing—, already scarcely","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ein … Weiterwinkendes","title":"A coined noun for an ongoing wave","body":"Weiterwinkendes is the present participle of weiterwinken, 'to go on waving', turned into a neuter noun: 'a still-waving thing'. Rilke coins it here, alongside leise, 'softly', to describe a gesture fading into something no longer quite a wave."}],"words":[{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Weiterwinkendes–","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"leise","lemma":"leise","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Weiterwinkendes–","gloss":"softly"},{"surface":"Weiterwinkendes–","lemma":"weiterwinkend","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"going-on-waving thing","note":"A substantivized present participle (from weiterwinken, \"to go on waving\") coined for this poem — literally \"a still-waving thing.\""},{"surface":"schon","lemma":"schon","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kaum","gloss":"already"},{"surface":"kaum","lemma":"kaum","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on erklärbar","gloss":"scarcely"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"abschied-s3-l3","source":"erklärbar mehr: vielleicht ein Pflaumenbaum,","translation":"explicable any more: a plum tree, perhaps,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"kaum erklärbar mehr","title":"Scarcely explicable any longer","body":"erklärbar means 'explicable, able to be explained', from erklären, 'to explain'. kaum... mehr means 'scarcely... any longer'. kaum erklärbar mehr means 'scarcely explicable any longer', describing the wave from the line before."}],"words":[{"surface":"erklärbar","lemma":"erklärbar","morphology":"adjective, predicate","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"explicable"},{"surface":"mehr","lemma":"mehr","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on erklärbar","gloss":"any more"},{"surface":"vielleicht","lemma":"vielleicht","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Pflaumenbaum","gloss":"perhaps"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Pflaumenbaum","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Pflaumenbaum","lemma":"Pflaumenbaum","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"plum tree"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"abschied-s3-l4","source":"von dem ein Kuckuck hastig abgeflogen.","translation":"from which a cuckoo has hastily flown off.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/abschied-s3-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"abgeflogen","title":"Past participle of flying off","body":"abgeflogen is the past participle of abfliegen, 'to fly off, take off', with the prefix ab-, 'away'. von dem ein Kuckuck... abgeflogen means 'from which a cuckoo has flown off', with dem as a relative pronoun referring to Pflaumenbaum, 'plum tree'."}],"words":[{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on abgeflogen","gloss":"from"},{"surface":"dem","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular, relative","role":"depends on von","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Kuckuck","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Kuckuck","lemma":"Kuckuck","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of abgeflogen","gloss":"cuckoo"},{"surface":"hastig","lemma":"hastig","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on abgeflogen","gloss":"hastily"},{"surface":"abgeflogen","lemma":"abfliegen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"flown off"}]}]}