# Adam · Adam

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/adam. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/adam.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Staunend steht er an der Kathedrale  
Astonished he stands at the cathedral's
> Present participle used as adverb: staunend is the present participle of staunen, 'to marvel, to be amazed', used here as an adverb meaning 'marvelling, in amazement'. It describes how er steht, 'he stands', modifying the verb rather than a noun.

**2** steilem Aufstieg, nah der Fensterrose,  
steep ascent, close by the rose window,
> Genitive noun placed before its head: an der Kathedrale steilem Aufstieg means 'at the cathedral's steep ascent'. der Kathedrale is a genitive placed before its noun Aufstieg instead of after it; plain order would be am steilen Aufstieg der Kathedrale. steilem takes the dative ending -em after an.
> Compound noun for the rose window: die Fensterrose, literally 'window rose', names the large round stained-glass window on a cathedral's front, also called die Rosette. It is a compound of das Fenster, 'window', and die Rose, 'rose'.

**3** wie erschreckt von der Apotheose,  
as if startled by the apotheosis,
> wie plus participle for 'as though': wie erschreckt means 'as though startled'. wie introduces a shortened comparison standing for wie einer, der erschreckt ist, 'like one who is startled'. erschreckt is the past participle of erschrecken, 'to startle'.

**4** welche wuchs und ihn mit einem Male  
which grew, and all at once
> Fixed phrase for suddenness: mit einem Male is a set adverbial phrase meaning 'all at once, suddenly'. Male here is a dative form of das Mal, 'time, instance'. The phrase modifies niederstellte, the verb that follows in the next stanza.


**5** niederstellte über die und die.  
set him down above this one and that.
> Separable verb niederstellen: niederstellte is the simple past of the separable verb niederstellen, 'to set down', built from stellen, 'to place', and the prefix nieder-, 'down'. Its subject is die Apotheose two lines back: it stellte ihn nieder, 'set him down', über die und die, 'above this one and that one'.

**6** Und er ragt und freut sich seiner Dauer  
And he looms and rejoices in his endurance
> sich freuen with a genitive object: sich freuen, 'to rejoice', can take a genitive object in older literary German: freut sich seiner Dauer means 'rejoices in his endurance'. Modern German instead says freut sich über seine Dauer. seiner Dauer is the genitive of seine Dauer, 'his endurance'.

**7** schlicht entschlossen; als der Ackerbauer,  
plainly resolved; like the tiller of the soil
> als meaning 'like' in a comparison: Here als means 'as, like', introducing a comparison rather than marking time or an unequal comparison. als der Ackerbauer means 'like the tiller of the soil', setting up the simile that runs through the rest of the poem.
> Compound noun for farmer: der Ackerbauer means 'farmer, husbandman', built from der Acker, 'field, ploughland', and der Bauer, 'peasant, farmer'. It names the man who works the soil, the figure Adam is compared to.

**8** der begann und der nicht wußte, wie  
who began and who did not know how
> Pre-1996 spelling with ß: wußte is the simple past of wissen, 'to know a fact', meaning 'knew'. The spelling with ß is the pre-1996 orthography Rilke used; today it is written wusste, because the u before it is short.


**9** aus dem fertig-vollen Garten Eden  
out of the finished, brimming Garden of Eden
> Hyphenated compound adjective: fertig-voll is Rilke's own hyphenated coinage, joining fertig, 'finished, complete', and voll, 'full'. It describes the Garden of Eden as already made complete and filled to capacity.

**10** einen Ausweg in die neue Erde  
to find a way out into the new earth
> Compound noun for way out: der Ausweg means 'a way out, an exit', from aus, 'out', and der Weg, 'the way'. It is the object of finden, 'to find', in the next line: einen Ausweg finden, 'to find a way out'.

**11** finden. Gott war schwer zu überreden;  
into the new earth. God was hard to persuade;
> sein plus schwer zu plus infinitive: schwer zu überreden means 'hard to persuade'. The pattern sein plus schwer or leicht zu plus infinitive gives a passive sense with an active-looking infinitive: Gott war schwer zu überreden means 'God was hard to persuade'. überreden, 'to persuade', is inseparable, so über- never splits off.


**12** und er drohte ihm, statt zu gewähren,  
and he threatened him, instead of granting,
> drohen takes the dative: drohen, 'to threaten', governs the dative case: er drohte ihm means 'he threatened him', with ihm the dative of er. statt zu gewähren, 'instead of granting', uses statt plus zu plus infinitive; gewähren means 'to grant, to allow'.

**13** immer wieder, daß er sterben werde.  
again and again, that he would die.
> Konjunktiv I in reported speech: daß er sterben werde means 'that he would die'. werde is Konjunktiv I, the subjunctive used for reported speech, marking the threat as something said rather than a fact stated by the poem. daß is the old spelling of dass, and it sends the verb werde to the end of the clause.

**14** Doch der Mensch bestand: sie wird gebären.  
Yet the man held firm: she will give birth.
> Verb meaning to hold firm: bestand is the simple past of bestehen, 'to endure, to insist'. Used without an object, as here, it means 'held firm, stood his ground'. der Mensch bestand means 'the man held firm', his answer to God's threat.
> Future tense with werden: gebären means 'to give birth, to bear a child'. sie wird gebären means 'she will give birth', built from wird, the present tense of werden, plus the infinitive gebären. This is the poem's only future-tense verb.

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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.