German · New Poems: The Other Part

Das Gold

Gold

18 lines · 19 notes

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1
Think it were not: it would have had to
DenkThinkdenken · verb, imperative, second-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
esites · pronoun, nominative, neuter, singulardepends on wäre
wäreweresein · verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singulardepends on Denk
nichtnotnicht · particledepends on wäre
esites · pronoun, nominative, neuter, singulardepends on hätte
hättewould havehaben · auxiliary verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singulardepends on Denk
Starts a double-modal construction with müssen and the infinitives in the next two lines: 'hätte müssen gebären' = 'would have had to be born.'
müssenhad tomüssen · auxiliary verb, infinitivedepends on hätte
GrammarImperative plus subjunctive for a supposition Denk is the imperative of denken, 'to think'. Wäre is the past subjunctive of sein, marking a hypothesis rather than a fact. Rilke drops daß, so read it as Denk, [daß] es nicht wäre, 'imagine it were not.'
GrammarPast subjunctive double infinitive Hätte müssen is the past subjunctive of the modal müssen, 'to have to', built as a double infinitive. Its dependent infinitives gebären and niederschlagen arrive only in the next two lines, so the sentence stays open until then.
2
at last give birth to itself in the mountains
WordA reflexive added to give birth Gebären means 'to give birth'. Rilke adds the reflexive sich, 'itself', so sich gebären is 'to bear itself'. In den Bergen is dative after in, marking where the birth happens: 'in the mountains.'
3
and precipitate itself in the rivers
WordA separable verb made reflexive Niederschlagen is a separable verb meaning 'to settle out, precipitate', the sense of a substance dropping out of solution. With sich it becomes reflexive, 'to deposit itself'. In den Flüssen, 'in the rivers', is dative after in.
4
out of the willing, out of the fermenting
WordInfinitives used as nouns Wollen, 'the willing', and Gären, 'the fermenting', are infinitives of wollen and gären used as neuter nouns. Aus takes the dative here: aus dem Wollen, aus dem Gären, 'out of the willing, out of the fermenting.'
5
of their will; out of the fixed idea,
GrammarA delayed genitive Ihres Willens, 'of their will', is a genitive phrase that completes aus dem Wollen from the line before, across the stanza break: 'out of the willing... of their will.' The finite construction is suspended until this word arrives.
WordA compound for a fixed idea A compound of Zwang, 'compulsion', and Idee, 'idea'. Die Zwangidee names a fixed, obsessive idea, an idée fixe. It stands in the dative after aus in der Zwangidee, 'out of the fixed idea.'
6
that one ore stands above all ores.
GrammarÜber with the dative for rank Daß, the older spelling of dass, means 'that' and opens a clause. Über takes the dative allen Erzen here because it marks rank, not motion: 'above all ores'. Erz means 'ore', the raw metal.
7
Far and wide they cast out of their hearts
WordAn adverb of great distance Weithin is an adverb meaning 'far and wide, over a great distance'. Placed first in the clause, it pushes the finite verb warfen, past tense of werfen, 'to throw, cast', into second position, as German main clauses require.
8
again and again Meroë
9
to the edge of the lands, into the ether,
GrammarAccusative after an and in for motion An den Rand and in den Äther both take the accusative because they mark motion toward a destination: 'to the edge' and 'into the ether'. Die Lande is an older plural of Land, 'the lands.'
10
out beyond all that was known;
GrammarA split phrase for going beyond Über ... hinaus is a split phrase meaning 'out beyond, past the limit of'. Its object das Erfahrene is erfahren, 'to experience', turned into a noun with das: 'that which has been experienced.'
11
and the sons sometimes later brought
12
the promised thing of the fathers,
WordPast participle used as a noun Das Verheißene is the past participle of verheißen, 'to promise, foretell', used as a noun: 'the promised thing'. Der Väter is the genitive plural of Vater, 'father', so the whole phrase is 'the promised thing of the fathers.'
13
hardened and laid waste, home,
WordTwo past participles Abgehärtet, from abhärten, 'to harden, toughen', means 'hardened, inured'. Verhehrt is the past participle of the rare verheeren, 'to ravage, lay waste'. Both describe what nach Haus, 'home', comes back as.
14
where it grew on a while, only then
GrammarSeparable verb 'anwachsen' Anwachsen, 'to grow, accumulate', appears here as anwuchs, its simple past, in a subordinate clause opened by wo, 'where', so the prefix an- stays joined to the stem instead of splitting off. Eine Zeit, 'a while', is accusative marking duration.
GrammarPurpose clause with um zu Um points ahead to the infinitive fortzugehn in the next line, forming the um ... zu construction, 'in order to'. Dann, 'then', sits inside the bracket: 'in order then to go away.'
15
to depart from those it had weakened,
WordA nominalized past participle Geschwächten comes from schwächen, 'to weaken', turned into a plural noun meaning 'those weakened'. An ihm, 'by it', is dative and refers to the gold, naming what wore them down.
16
whom it never came to love.
WordSimple past of a compound verb Liebgewinnen, 'to grow fond of, come to love', appears as liebgewann, its simple past. Es, the gold, is the subject; die, referring to the people, is its accusative object: 'it never came to love them.'
17
Only (so they say) in the final nights
GrammarThe impersonal 'man' Man is the impersonal pronoun, 'one, people, they'. Sagt man, 'so they say', is a fixed phrase marking what follows as rumor rather than fact, set off in parentheses in the line.
18
it rises up and looks at them.
GrammarTwo separable verbs Aufstehen, 'to rise, stand up', appears as steht ... auf, and ansehen, 'to look at', as sieht ... an: both split their prefixes to the end of the clause. Together: 'it rises up and looks at them.'

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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