# Das Karussell · The Carousel

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** Mit einem Dach und seinem Schatten dreht  
With a roof and with its shadow turns
> dreht awaits its subject: dreht is present tense, third-person singular, of drehen, 'to turn'. Its subject does not appear in this line; it follows later in the sentence, after the prepositional phrases mit einem Dach und seinem Schatten.

**2** sich eine kleine Weile der Bestand  
for a little while the company
> Bestand, a standing company: der Bestand can mean 'stock' or 'holding', or here 'a standing company' or 'set', the assembled group of carousel horses. der Bestand is nominative, the subject of the verb that follows.

**3** von bunten Pferden, alle aus dem Land,  
of bright-colored horses, all from the land
> An adjective for many colors: bunt means 'brightly colored, particolored', or 'multicolored'. von bunten Pferden, 'of bright colored horses', takes the dative plural after von, 'of'.

**4** das lange zögert, eh es untergeht.  
that long hesitates before it goes under.
> eh meaning before: eh is a shortened, poetic form of ehe, 'before', a subordinating conjunction that sends the verb to the end of its clause. eh es untergeht means 'before it goes under', with untergeht, from untergehen, at the clause's end.

**5** Zwar manche sind an Wagen angespannt,  
True, some are harnessed to little wagons,
> Two adverbs make a concession: zwar, 'true' or 'admittedly', opens a concession, and doch, 'yet', answers it in the following clause. Zwar manche … doch alle means 'true, some … yet all', granting one point before contradicting it.

**6** doch alle haben Mut in ihren Mienen;  
yet all of them have courage in their faces;
> A word for facial expression: die Miene means 'facial expression' or 'look', not the English word mien in its narrower sense. in ihren Mienen, 'in their faces', is dative plural after in, 'in'.

**7** ein böser roter Löwe geht mit ihnen  
an angry red lion goes along with them
> An adjective for angry or fierce: böse means 'angry, fierce', or 'wicked' depending on context. ein böser roter Löwe, 'an angry red lion', strings both adjectives before the noun with the strong nominative ending -er.

**8** und dann und wann ein weißer Elefant.  
and now and then a white elephant.
> A fixed phrase for now and then: dann und wann is a fixed phrase meaning 'now and then, occasionally'. It functions as a single adverbial unit modifying the whole clause that follows.


**9** Sogar ein Hirsch ist da ganz wie im Wald,  
Even a stag is there, just as in the forest,
> Hirsch, a stag: der Hirsch means 'stag' or 'male deer'. Sogar ein Hirsch, 'even a stag', uses sogar, 'even', to add this animal to the list of carousel figures.

**10** nur daß er einen Sattel trägt und drüber  
except that it bears a saddle, and above it
> A phrase for except that: nur daß means 'except that' or 'only that', introducing a small qualification. daß is a subordinating conjunction, so the finite verb trägt, 'bears', is held toward the end of its clause.

**11** ein kleines blaues Mädchen aufgeschnallt.  
a little girl in blue is strapped.
> aufschnallen, past participle: aufschnallen means 'to strap on' or 'buckle on'. aufgeschnallt is its past participle, used adjectivally after Mädchen: 'strapped on', describing how the little girl is fastened to her mount.


**12** Und auf dem Löwen reitet weiß ein Junge  
And on the lion, dressed in white, rides a boy
> weiß as a predicate adjective: reitet weiß places the adjective weiß, 'white', right after the verb reitet, 'rides', describing the rider rather than modifying a noun directly. It functions like 'dressed in white', and takes no case ending because predicate adjectives in German do not decline.

**13** und hält sich mit der kleinen heißen Hand,  
and holds on with his small hot hand,
> A reflexive verb for holding on: sich halten means 'to hold oneself steady, to hold on'. hält sich mit der kleinen heißen Hand, 'holds on with his small hot hand', uses mit plus the dative for the instrument.

**14** dieweil der Löwe Zähne zeigt und Zunge.  
while the lion shows its teeth and tongue.
> An old word for while: dieweil is an older, literary subordinating conjunction meaning 'while' or 'whereas', largely replaced in modern German by während. It sends the finite verb zeigt, 'shows', to the end of its clause.


**15** Und dann und wann ein weißer Elefant.  
And now and then a white elephant.
> A repeated line returns: This line repeats the earlier Und dann und wann ein weißer Elefant word for word, functioning as a refrain. The grammar is identical to its first appearance: dann und wann is the fixed phrase 'now and then'.


**16** Und auf den Pferden kommen sie vorüber,  
And on the horses they come riding past,
> Separable verb vorüberkommen: vorüberkommen, 'to come past', is separable. Its prefix vorüber sits at the end of the clause while the conjugated stem kommen carries the verb's person and number: kommen … sie vorüber, 'they come past'.

**17** auch Mädchen, helle, diesem Pferdesprunge  
girls too, fair ones, this leaping of horses
> A compound noun in the dative: Pferdesprung joins Pferd, 'horse', and Sprung, 'leap', into one noun, dative singular here after an implied verb of accompaniment. diesem Pferdesprunge carries the older dative ending -e.

**18** fast schon entwachsen; mitten in dem Schwunge  
almost already outgrown; mid-swing
> A verb for outgrowing something: entwachsen means 'to grow out of' or 'outgrow something', from wachsen, 'to grow', with the prefix ent-, 'away from'. fast schon entwachsen, schon meaning 'already', describes children who have nearly outgrown the ride.

**19** schauen sie auf, irgendwohin, herüber–  
they look up, off somewhere, over this way—
> A direction word for toward here: herüber is a direction adverb meaning 'over to here', marking motion from a distance toward the speaker's side. irgendwohin, herüber pairs it with irgendwohin, 'off somewhere', contrasting an unfixed direction with one aimed at the viewer.


**20** Und dann und wann ein weißer Elefant.  
And now and then a white elephant.


**21** Und das geht hin und eilt sich, daß es endet,  
And on it goes and hurries to be done,
> eilen used reflexively: eilen, 'to hurry', is used here reflexively, sich eilen, 'to hurry oneself'. daß es endet, 'that it ends', is the object clause explaining what the hurrying is toward.

**22** und kreist und dreht sich nur und hat kein Ziel.  
and circles and just turns and turns, with no goal.
> Kein negates the noun: kein negates the noun that follows, so kein Ziel means 'no goal' or 'no destination', rather than 'not a goal'. It takes the accusative here as the object of hat, 'has'.

**23** Ein Rot, ein Grün, ein Grau vorbeigesendet,  
A red, a green, a gray sent flashing past,
> vorbeisenden, past participle: vorbeisenden means 'to send past' or 'flash past', from vorbei, 'past', and senden, 'to send'. vorbeigesendet is its past participle, describing the colors as having been sent flashing by.

**24** ein kleines kaum begonnenes Profil.  
a small, scarcely begun profile.
> begonnen as an adjective: begonnenes is the past participle of beginnen, 'to begin', used here as an adjective before Profil. kaum begonnenes Profil means 'a profile scarcely begun', barely sketched in.

**25** Und manchesmal ein Lächeln, hergewendet,  
And many a time a smile, turned this way,
> herwenden, to turn this way: herwenden means 'to turn toward the speaker's side', combining her, 'hither', with wenden, 'to turn'. hergewendet is its past participle, describing a smile turned this way as it passes.

**26** ein seliges, das blendet und verschwendet  
a blissful one, that dazzles and is squandered
> An adjective for blissful: selig means 'blissful' or 'blessed', often describing a state of deep, untroubled happiness. ein seliges is the neuter adjective used as a noun, 'a blissful one', continuing the description of the smile from the line before.

**27** an dieses atemlose blinde Spiel.  
on this breathless, blind game.
> verschwenden an, to squander on: verschwenden means 'to waste' or 'squander', and here it governs an plus the accusative: an dieses atemlose blinde Spiel, 'on this breathless blind game'. dieses, atemlose, and blinde all carry the accusative neuter ending agreeing with Spiel.

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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.