# Das Roseninnere · The Rose's Interior

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

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

**1** Wo ist zu diesem Innen  
Where is, for this within,
> Adverb 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** ein Außen? Auf welches Weh  
an outside? On what hurt
> Sentence 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** legt man solches Linnen?  
does one lay such linen?
> Impersonal 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** Welche Himmel spiegeln sich drinnen  
What skies are mirrored within
> Reflexive 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 dem Binnensee  
in the inland lake
> Compound 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** dieser offenen Rosen,  
of these open roses,
> Genitive 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** dieser sorglosen, sieh:  
these carefree ones, look:
> Imperative 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** wie sie lose im Losen  
how loosely, in the loose,
> Adverb 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** liegen, als könnte nie  
they lie, as if never could
> Subjunctive 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** eine zitternde Hand sie verschütten.  
a trembling hand could spill them.
> Verb 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** Sie können sich selber kaum  
They can scarcely hold

**12** halten; viele ließen  
themselves; many let
> lassen 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** sich überfüllen und fließen  
themselves be overfilled, and flow
> Verb 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** über von Innenraum  
over with inner space
> Separable 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** in die Tage, die immer  
into the days, which ever
> Relative 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** voller und voller sich schließen,  
fuller and fuller close,
> Doubled 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** bis der ganze Sommer ein Zimmer  
until the whole summer becomes a room,
> Subordinate 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** wird, ein Zimmer in einem Traum.  
a room within a dream.
> Verb 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.

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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.