German · New Poems: The Other Part

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1
So that from the renouncing face
DaßSo thatdaß · subordinating conjunctiondepends on fiele
vonfromvon · prepositionhead of the phrase
demtheder · determiner, dative, neuter, singulardepends on Gesichte
verzichtendenrenouncingverzichtend · adjective, dative, neuter, singulardepends on Gesichte
GesichtefaceGesicht · noun, dative, neuter, singulardepends on von
Gesichte is an older/poetic dative form of Gesicht ('face'); modern German simply uses Gesicht.
Grammardaß clause sends its verb last daß means 'so that, in order that', and the subordinate verb it introduces goes to the clause's end. Its subject, keiner ihrer großen Schmerzen, and verb, fiele, land only in the next line. verzichtenden is the present participle of verzichten, 'to renounce'.
2
not one of her great sorrows might fall,
GrammarSubjunctive for a wished-for outcome fiele is the past subjunctive of fallen, 'to fall', used inside the daß clause for a purpose that has not happened: 'so that none might fall'. keiner ... Schmerzen is a genitive partitive, 'not one of her sorrows', with keiner taking the genitive Schmerzen.
3
she carries slowly through the tragedies
GrammarVerb-second after a fronted clause trägt sie, 'she carries', is the main clause. Because the long daß clause filled the sentence's first slot, German still needs the finite verb trägt in second position, ahead of its subject sie. Its object arrives only in the next line.
WordA compound word for tragedy Trauerspiel, literally 'mourning play', is the German word for tragedy: Trauer, 'grief, mourning', plus Spiel, 'play'. The plural Trauerspiele names the roles she performs, the object of durch, 'through', in trägt sie ... durch die Trauerspiele.
4
the lovely withered bouquet of her features,
GrammarGenitive placed before its noun The object of trägt is schönen welken Strauß, 'lovely withered bouquet', with the genitive ihrer Züge, 'of her features', set before it in an older poetic order. Züge is the plural of Zug, here 'facial features'.
5
wildly bound and already nearly loose;
WordPast participle for tying a bouquet gebunden is the past participle of binden, 'to bind, tie', the verb used for tying a bouquet. wild gebunden means 'wildly bound'; schon beinah lose means 'already nearly loose'. lose means 'loose, slack', distinct from los, 'rid of'.
6
sometimes, like a tuberose, there falls
GrammarAdverb-first inversion, subject delayed manchmal, 'sometimes', takes the front position, so the verb fällt, 'falls', comes next and its subject, ein verlornes Lächeln, 'a lost smile', is held back to the next line, the same inversion seen earlier with trägt sie.
WordA borrowed flower name Tuberose names the tuberose, Polianthes tuberosa, a white, strongly scented flower that opens at night. wie eine Tuberose means 'like a tuberose', the simile attached to the falling smile named in the next line.
7
a lost smile, wearily, out.
GrammarSeparable prefix comes last The verb is herausfallen, 'to fall out', split apart: fällt stood in the line before and its prefix heraus, 'out', lands at the end of this line, as separable-prefix verbs require. verlornes is a poetic contraction of verlorenes, 'lost', and müd of müde, 'weary'.
8
And she goes calmly on over it,
GrammarContraction plus separable prefix drüber is a colloquial contraction of darüber, 'over it'; hin is the separable prefix of hingehen, 'to go along, pass on'. geht ... drüber hin together mean 'passes on over it'. gelassen means 'composed, unruffled', the participle of lassen used as an adverb.
9
weary, with the lovely blind hands,
10
which know that they would not find it,
GrammarSubjunctive marks a search never tried welche, 'which', opens a relative clause about the hands, and fänden inside it is the past subjunctive of finden, 'to find'. wissen, daß sie es nicht fänden means 'know that they would not find it'. es points back to the fallen smile.
11
and she speaks invented things, in which
WordA noun made from a participle Erdichtetes is a neuter nominalized adjective from erdichten, 'to invent, fabricate', built on dichten, 'to compose poetry'. It means 'invented matter, fictions'. darin, 'therein, in which', is a pronominal adverb pointing forward to the clause that follows.
12
fate sways, a willed one, some one or other,
WordNeuter forms agreeing with Schicksal Schicksal, 'fate, destiny', is the subject; schwankt, from schwanken, 'to sway, waver', is its verb. gewolltes, 'willed, deliberately devised', and irgendeines, 'some one or other', are both neuter forms agreeing with Schicksal, not separate nouns.
13
and she gives it her soul's meaning,
GrammarDative object plus a preposed genitive gibt, 'gives', takes the dative ihm, 'to it', and the accusative object ihrer Seele Sinn. That object carries a genitive placed before its noun: ihrer Seele Sinn means 'the meaning of her soul', from der Sinn ihrer Seele.
14
so that it breaks out like something uncommon:
Grammardaß clause of result Another daß clause, this one of result: 'so that it breaks out'. ausbrechen, 'to break out, erupt', keeps its separable parts together at the clause's end, ausbricht, as subordinate word order requires. ein Ungemeines is a neuter noun from ungemein, 'uncommon, extraordinary'.
15
like the crying-out of a stone—
WordInfinitive as a noun, plus genitive das Schreien is the nominalized infinitive of schreien, 'to scream, cry out', used as a neuter noun. eines Steines, 'of a stone', is genitive, giving the phrase 'the crying-out of a stone'. The dash at the line's end leaves the image open.
16
and with chin raised high she lets
Grammarlassen plus fallen, split apart läßt, from lassen, 'to let, allow', begins the construction fallen lassen, 'to let fall, drop', but its infinitive fallen is delayed to the next line. mit hochgehobnem Kinn means 'with chin raised high', hochgehobnem a contracted dative of hochgehoben, 'raised high'.
17
all these words fall again,
18
without remaining; for not one of them all
GrammarCompressed syntax for ohne zu ohne bleibend is compressed poetic syntax standing in for ohne zu bleiben, 'without remaining'; bleibend is the present participle of bleiben, 'to remain, stay'. denn, 'for, because', introduces the reason that follows: nicht eins von allen, 'not one of them all'.
19
is equal to the aching reality,
Grammargemäß follows its noun gemäß means 'in accordance with, adequate to, equal to', governs the dative, and usually follows its noun: der wehen Wirklichkeit gemäß means 'adequate to the aching reality'. wehen is the dative of weh, 'sore, aching'; Wirklichkeit is built on wirklich, 'real'.
20
her one and only possession,
WordPossession, built on eigen Eigentum means 'property, possession, what belongs to one', from eigen, 'own'. The dative ihrem einzigen Eigentum, 'her one and only possession', stands in apposition to der wehen Wirklichkeit in the line above.
21
which she, like a footless vessel,
WordVessel without a base Gefäß means 'vessel, container'; fußlos, 'footless', combines Fuß, 'foot, base', with -los, 'without'. das is the neuter relative pronoun, 'which', referring to Eigentum, and sie is its subject, both governed by the verb that closes in the next line.
22
must hold, high above her fame
GrammarModal verb closes the clause The relative clause opened two lines earlier closes its verbs here: halten muß, 'must hold'. In a subordinate clause the modal muß, from müssen, goes last, after the infinitive halten. hoch über ihren Ruhm takes the accusative after über.
23
and out beyond the passing of the evenings.
GrammarSeparable prefix as the final word The phrase hoch über ihren Ruhm und den Gang der Abende hinaus splits über ... hinaus, 'out beyond', with hinaus landing as the poem's last word. Gang means 'a going, a course', from gehen, 'to go'.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems: The Other Part.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
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