# Dame vor dem Spiegel · Lady Before the Mirror

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

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/dame-vor-dem-spiegel. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/dame-vor-dem-spiegel.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Wie in einem Schlaftrunk Spezerein,  
As in a sleeping-draught spices,
> Compound noun for a nightcap: der Schlaftrunk is a 'sleeping draught, nightcap', from Schlaf, 'sleep', and Trunk, 'draught, drink'. Spezerein is an old poetic plural of die Spezerei, 'spices, aromatics'.

**2** löst sie leise in dem flüssigklaren  
she gently dissolves, in the fluid-clear
> Reflexive sense of a verb: lösen means 'to loosen, release', and reflexively or with an object, 'to dissolve'. The clause is inverted so löst, picking up the Wie-simile of the line before, stands first: 'she dissolves'.
> Coined compound adjective: flüssigklar is a coined compound of flüssig, 'fluid, liquid', and klar, 'clear': 'fluid-clear, liquidly transparent'. It modifies Spiegel, 'mirror', in the next line.

**3** Spiegel ihr ermüdetes Gebaren;  
mirror, her wearied bearing;
> Noun for a manner of conduct: das Gebaren is 'conduct, demeanour, bearing', the manner one carries oneself, related to sich gebärden, 'to behave'. ermüdet is the past participle of ermüden, 'to tire', used adjectivally: 'wearied'.

**4** und sie tut ihr Lächeln ganz hinein.  
and she puts her smile right into it.
> Separable verb ends the clause: hineintun means 'to put into'; it is separable, hinein plus tun. In this main clause the stem tut stands second while the prefix hinein drops to the end: sie tut ihr Lächeln ganz hinein.


**5** Und sie wartet, daß die Flüssigkeit  
And she waits for the liquid
> Older spelling of daß: daß here is the older spelling of modern dass, 'that', kept as Rilke printed it before the 1996 spelling reform changed ß to ss after a short vowel. As a subordinating conjunction it sends its verb to the clause's end.

**6** davon steigt; dann gießt sie ihre Haare  
to rise off it; then she pours her hair
> Pronominal adverb for from it: steigen means 'to rise, climb'. davon is a pronominal adverb, 'from it, off that', referring back to the smile and bearing dissolved before. davon steigt means 'rises off it'.
> Verb for pouring liquid: giessen means 'to pour', said of a liquid; giesst is its third-person singular form. She does not let her hair fall but giesst ... ihre Haare, 'pours her hair'.

**7** in den Spiegel und, die wunderbare  
into the mirror and, raising the wondrous
> Accusative marks motion into: in den Spiegel is accusative, den being the masculine accusative of der Spiegel, the case German uses with in for motion into something, 'into the mirror'. This differs from the dative in dem Spiegel, 'in the mirror', used earlier.

**8** Schulter hebend aus dem Abendkleid,  
shoulder up out of the evening gown,
> Present participle used adverbially: hebend is the present participle of heben, 'to lift, raise'. German forms it with -end, like English -ing, and uses it adverbially: die wunderbare Schulter hebend aus dem Abendkleid, 'raising the shoulder out of the evening gown'.


**9** trinkt sie still aus ihrem Bild. Sie trinkt,  
she drinks, quietly, from her image. She drinks
> Verb governs aus plus dative: trinken aus means 'to drink from, out of'; aus governs the dative, ihrem Bild, dative of das Bild, 'image, reflection'. The long sentence begun earlier finally lands its finite verb here: trinkt sie still aus ihrem Bild.

**10** was ein Liebender im Taumel tränke,  
what a lover, in his rapture, would drink,
> Subjunctive marks a hypothetical: tränke is the Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of trinken, 'to drink': 'would drink'. It marks the clause was ein Liebender im Taumel tränke, 'what a lover, in his rapture, would drink', as hypothetical, not fact.
> Noun for dizzy self-loss: der Taumel is 'reeling, giddiness, intoxicated frenzy', from taumeln, 'to stagger, reel'. im Taumel means 'in a rapture, in a swoon'.

**11** prüfend, voller Mißtraun; und sie winkt  
testing, full of mistrust; and she beckons
> Present participle used adverbially: prüfend is the present participle of prüfen, 'to test, examine, scrutinize', used adverbially, 'testingly'. das Mißtrauen, spelled Mißtraun here and shortened for the meter, means 'mistrust, distrust'.
> Verb for a summoning gesture: winken means 'to wave, beckon, signal'; winkt is its third-person singular form. Here it is the gesture by which she summons her maid, sie winkt erst der Zofe, 'she beckons the maid only'.


**12** erst der Zofe, wenn sie auf dem Grunde  
the maid only when, on the bottom
> erst plus wenn means not until: erst with a time clause means 'not until, only when'. sie winkt erst der Zofe, wenn ... is 'she beckons the maid only when ...'. der Zofe is dative, the indirect object of winken; die Zofe means 'lady's maid'.
> Noun for the bottom of water: der Grund means 'ground, bottom, floor', here the bottom of a body of water. auf dem Grunde is an old dative form of the modern auf dem Grund, 'on the bottom'.

**13** ihres Spiegels Lichter findet, Schränke  
of her mirror she finds lights, cupboards,
> Genitive placed before its noun: ihres Spiegels is genitive, 'of her mirror', placed before its noun Grunde across the line break, an elevated, slightly archaic word order: auf dem Grunde ihres Spiegels, 'on the bottom of her mirror'.
> Plural noun with umlaut: der Schrank is 'cupboard, wardrobe, cabinet'; its plural takes an umlaut, die Schränke. Lichter, plural of das Licht, 'light', and Schränke are ordinary furnishings surfacing in the mirror.

**14** und das Trübe einer späten Stunde.  
and the dimness of a late hour.
> Adjective nominalized into a noun: trübe is an adjective meaning 'cloudy, dim, murky, gloomy'; capitalized and preceded by das, it becomes a noun, das Trübe, 'the dimness, the murk'. einer späten Stunde means 'of a late hour'.

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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.