German · New Poems: The Other Part

Das Roseninnere

The Rose's Interior

18 lines · 17 notes

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1
Where is, for this within,
WoWherewo · adverbdepends on ist
istissein · auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
zuforzu · prepositiondepends on ist
diesemthisdieser · determiner, dative, neuter, singulardepends on Innen
InnenwithinInnen · noun, dative, neuter, singulardepends on zu
WordAdverb turned into a noun innen is normally the adverb 'inside'. Here it is nominalized, das Innen, 'the within, the interior', paired in the next line with the coined opposite ein Aussen, 'an outside'.
2
an outside? On what hurt
GrammarSentence spans two lines ein Aussen nominalizes the adverb aussen, 'outside', just as das Innen nominalized innen in line 1; both are neuter. The sentence Wo ist zu diesem Innen ein Aussen? runs across the break: 'where, to this within, is an outside'.
3
does one lay such linen?
GrammarImpersonal subject man man is the impersonal subject 'one, you, they', taking a singular verb: man legt, 'one lays'. It keeps the agent of the action vague, as in Auf welches Weh legt man solches Linnen, 'on what wound does one lay such linen'.
4
What skies are mirrored within
GrammarReflexive verb for reflection sich spiegeln means 'to be reflected, mirrored'. The reflexive pronoun sich turns the active spiegeln, 'to mirror', inward: Welche Himmel spiegeln sich drinnen is 'what skies are reflected within'.
5
in the inland lake
WordCompound noun for inland water ein Binnensee is an 'inland lake', a body of water enclosed by land; binnen- means 'inner, landlocked'. The word echoes Innen in line 1 and drinnen in line 4.
6
of these open roses,
GrammarGenitive plural ending dieser offenen Rosen is genitive plural, 'of these open roses', depending on Binnensee in the line above. In the genitive plural the determiner is dieser and the adjective takes the weak ending -en.
7
these carefree ones, look:
GrammarImperative form of sehen sieh is the singular familiar imperative of sehen, 'look, see'; the usual -e ending is dropped, as is normal for this verb. sorglosen, 'carefree', continues the genitive begun in the line before.
8
how loosely, in the loose,
WordAdverb and its nominalized form lose is the adverb 'loosely, slackly'; das Lose nominalizes the same adjective into 'the loose, what is loose'. lose im Losen liegen is 'to lie loosely in the loose'.
9
they lie, as if never could
GrammarSubjunctive after als als, 'as though', introducing an unreal comparison, takes Konjunktiv II with the verb placed right after als rather than at the clause's end: als könnte nie ..., 'as though never could ...'. könnte is the past subjunctive of können.
10
a trembling hand could spill them.
WordVerb for spilling liquid verschütten means 'to spill, slop over', normally said of a liquid. It treats the open roses as brimful vessels, so full that only a shaking hand, eine zitternde Hand, might tip them over.
11
They can scarcely hold
12
themselves; many let
Grammarlassen plus reflexive for passive sense liessen is the past of lassen, 'to let'. With a reflexive pronoun it forms a passive-like construction: viele liessen sich überfüllen, 'many let themselves be overfilled'. sich plus lassen plus infinitive is the standard way to say 'to let oneself be done to'.
13
themselves be overfilled, and flow
WordVerb for filling past the brim überfüllen means 'to overfill, fill past the brim'. The prefix über-, 'over', is inseparable here. It links to fliessen über in the next line, so the roses are filled too full and flow over.
14
over with inner space
GrammarSeparable verb split across a line fliessen in the line above and über at the head of this line belong to the one separable verb überfließen, 'to overflow'. von Innenraum, 'with inner space', names what the roses overflow with; von marks the content.
15
into the days, which ever
GrammarRelative clause spans two lines The second die is a relative pronoun, accusative plural, referring back to die Tage, 'the days', and opens a clause that runs to sich schliessen in the next line. In the relative clause the finite verb is held to the end.
16
fuller and fuller close,
WordDoubled comparative for intensity voller is the comparative of voll, 'full', and the doubling voller und voller means 'fuller and fuller'. sich schliessen, 'to close themselves, draw shut', is the finite verb ending the relative clause opened before.
17
until the whole summer becomes a room,
GrammarSubordinate clause with bis bis, 'until', opens a subordinate clause whose verb, wird, is held until the start of the next line. der ganze Sommer, 'the whole summer', is the nominative subject; ein Zimmer, 'a room', is the predicate noun.
18
a room within a dream.
GrammarVerb held to clause end wird, from werden, 'to become', is the finite verb of the bis-clause begun in the line before; German word order holds it back so it lands only here. in einem Traum takes the dative after in.

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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