# Der Abenteurer I, II · The Adventurer I, II

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

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-abenteurer-i-ii. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-abenteurer-i-ii.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Wenn er unter jene, welche waren,  
When he stepped in among those who had been,
> Demonstrative standing on its own: jene here is a demonstrative pronoun standing alone, 'those', not an article before a noun. welche waren, 'who were, who had been', uses welche as a formal alternative to die.

**2** trat: der Plötzliche, der schien,  
trat: the sudden one, who seemed to shine,
> Verb held over a line: trat is the simple past of treten, 'to step'. The clause Wenn er … trat, 'When he stepped in', is split across the line break. der Plötzliche, 'the sudden one', is an adjective made into a noun.

**3** war ein Glanz wie von Gefahren  
there was a gleam as if of dangers

**4** in dem ausgesparten Raum um ihn,  
in the space left clear around him,
> Left clear, an empty gap: Past participle of aussparen, 'to leave out, leave open, reserve as a gap'. der ausgesparte Raum names an empty zone. The dative in dem … Raum marks location.


**5** den er lächelnd überschritt, um einer  
which he crossed, smiling, in order for a
> Purpose clause split over lines: um … aufzuheben, 'in order to pick up', is the um … zu construction of purpose, with the infinitive aufzuheben landing two lines later, after einer Herzogin, dative, and den Fächer, accusative.

**6** Herzogin den Fächer aufzuheben:  
duchess to pick the fan back up:
> Dative marks who benefits: Herzogin, 'duchess', stands in the dative, einer Herzogin, marking the person for whom the fan is retrieved, a dative of advantage. aufheben is a separable verb, 'to pick up'.

**7** diesen warmen Fächer, den er eben  
this warm fan, the one he had just now

**8** wollte fallen sehen. Und wenn keiner  
wanted to see fall. And when no one
> Three verbs chain together: wollte, past of wollen, 'wanted', governs sehen, 'to see', which governs fallen, 'to fall', a double infinitive: 'wanted to see it fall'. All three verbs share one subject, er, 'he'.


**9** mit ihm eintrat in die Fensternische  
entered with him into the window recess
> A separable verb kept whole: eintreten, 'to enter', is separable; in a finite past its particle usually splits to the clause end, but inside this subordinate clause, wenn keiner mit ihm eintrat, the whole verb stays together.

**10** (wo die Parke gleich ins Träumerische  
(where the gardens at once into the dreamlike
> Adjective turned into a noun: das Träumerische, 'the dreamlike, the reverie', is an adjective turned into a neuter abstract noun, capitalized. ins, from in das, with the accusative gives direction.

**11** stiegen, wenn er nur nach ihnen wies),  
rose up, if he so much as pointed at them),

**12** ging er lässig an die Kartentische  
he went casually over to the card tables

**13** und gewann. Und unterließ  
and won. And did not fail
> To fail to, to omit: Simple past of unterlassen, 'to refrain from, omit, fail to do'. It is completed in the next stanza: unterließ nicht, die Blicke … zu behalten, 'did not fail to keep every glance'.


**14** nicht, die Blicke alle zu behalten,  
to hold on to all the glances,

**15** die ihn zweifelnd oder zärtlich trafen,  
that struck him doubtingly or tenderly,
> Present participle used as adverb: zweifelnd, 'doubting, doubtingly', is the present participle of zweifeln, used here as an adverb alongside the adjective zärtlich, 'tenderly', describing how the glances trafen, 'struck', him.

**16** und auch die in Spiegel fielen, galten.  
and those that fell into mirrors counted too.
> Past tense of gelten: Past of gelten, 'to be valid, to count, to hold good'. die in Spiegel fielen, galten means the glances reflected in mirrors 'counted' too. The verb sits at the clause's end.

**17** Er beschloß, auch heute nicht zu schlafen,  
He resolved not to sleep tonight either,
> An older spelling: Simple past of beschließen, 'to decide, resolve'. The ß in beschloß reflects pre-1996 spelling; today it is written beschloss, since a short vowel takes ss.


**18** wie die letzte lange Nacht, und bog  
as on the last long night, and bent

**19** einen Blick mit seinem rücksichtslosen,  
a glance with his own ruthless one,
> Without regard for others: rücksichtslos means 'inconsiderate, reckless, ruthless', literally 'without Rücksicht', regard or consideration. The bare ending seinem rücksichtslosen leaves Blick understood, dative after mit: 'with his ruthless one'.

**20** welcher war: als hätte er von Rosen  
which was as if he had, from roses,
> Subjunctive marks a comparison: als hätte er … Kinder, 'as though he had children', is an unreal comparison: als, 'as though', plus the subjunctive II hätte of haben. After als the verb comes immediately, with no ob.

**21** Kinder, die man irgendwo erzog.  
children that were being raised somewhere.
> Impersonal man as a passive: man is the impersonal pronoun, 'one, people, they', here best rendered with an English passive: die man … erzog, 'children that one was raising'. erzog is the past of erziehen, 'to bring up'.


## II


**22** In den Tagen–(nein, es waren keine),  
In the days—(no, there were none),
> A mid-sentence correction: In den Tagen means 'In the days'; nein, es waren keine means 'no, there were none'. keine negates keine Tage, 'no days', the plural noun understood from the line before.

**23** da die Flut sein unterstes Verlies  
when the flood his lowest dungeon
> Da meaning when, not because: Here da is a temporal conjunction, 'when, at the time that', not causal 'because' and not the adverb 'there'. It opens a subordinate clause whose verbs, bestritt and stieß, wait at the ends of the next lines.

**24** ihm bestritt, als war es nicht das seine,  
disputed with him, as if it were not his own,
> To dispute, to contest: Past of bestreiten, 'to contest, dispute, deny'. With the dative ihm it means the flood 'disputed the dungeon to him'. das seine is the possessive pronoun standing for sein Verlies.

**25** und ihn, steigend, an die Steine  
and, rising, drove him against the stones

**26** der daran gewöhnten Wölbung stieß,  
of the vault long used to it,
> A fixed verb plus preposition: sich an etwas gewöhnen means 'to get used to something'; the participle gewöhnt, 'accustomed', keeps that an, compacted into daran, 'to it'. der … Wölbung is genitive.


**27** fiel ihm plötzlich einer von den Namen  
one of the names suddenly came back to him
> A separable verb, to occur: jemandem fällt etwas ein means 'something occurs to someone, comes back to mind'. The separable einfallen splits: fiel ihm … einer … wieder ein, with the particle ein on the next line.

**28** wieder ein, die er vor Zeiten trug.  
again, that he had borne in former times.
> In former times: A set phrase, 'long ago, in former times, of old'. er trug is the past of tragen, here meaning 'to bear, carry a name', with die, 'that', as its accusative object.

**29** Und er wußte wieder: Leben kamen,  
And he knew again: lives would come,
> An older spelling of wusste: Simple past of wissen, 'to know'. The ß in wußte is pre-1996 spelling; modern German writes wusste. Leben here is plural, 'lives', the subject of kamen, 'came', in the same line.

**30** wenn er lockte; wie im Flug  
when he beckoned; as if in flight
> To lure, to entice: Past of locken, 'to lure, entice, beckon'. wenn er lockte means 'whenever he lured them'. wie im Flug means 'as though in flight, in a flash'.


**31** kamen sie: noch warme Leben Toter,  
they came: lives of the dead still warm,
> Genitive plural without an article: Toter is the genitive plural of the substantivized adjective der Tote, 'the dead person': Leben Toter, 'lives of the dead'. With no article the genitive ending alone carries the case.

**32** die er, ungeduldiger, bedrohter,  
which he, more impatient, more imperiled,
> Comparatives set off by commas: Both words are comparatives: ungeduldiger, 'more impatient', and bedrohter, 'more threatened, more imperiled'. Set off by commas, they describe er, 'he', the subject of weiterlebte in the next line.

**33** weiterlebte mitten drin;  
went on living, right in their midst;
> A separable verb, to live on: weiterleben, 'to live on, go on living', is separable, weiter plus leben; in the past it stays joined as weiterlebte at the end of this relative clause, die er … weiterlebte.

**34** oder die nicht ausgelebten Leben,  
or else the lives not lived out,
> Never lived to the end: Participle of ausleben, 'to live out fully, to exhaust'. die nicht ausgelebten Leben are the lives that were never lived to their end, interrupted, unfinished existences.

**35** und er wußte sie hinaufzuheben,  
and he knew how to lift them up,
> To know how to do: wissen with a zu-infinitive means 'to know how to do' something: er wußte sie hinaufzuheben, 'he knew how to lift them up'. hinaufheben is separable, so zu tucks inside: hinaufzuheben.

**36** und sie hatten wieder Sinn.  
and they had meaning again.


**37** Oft war keine Stelle an ihm sicher,  
Often no place on him was secure,

**38** und er zitterte: Ich bin ––  
and he trembled: I am ––
> An unfinished sentence: Ich bin, 'I am', breaks off into a double dash. The verb sein wants a complement, I am who, what, but the sentence stops there.

**39** doch im nächsten Augenblicke glich er  
yet in the very next moment he resembled
> The verb gleichen takes dative: gleichen, 'to resemble, to be like', governs the dative, not the accusative: glich er dem Geliebten einer Königin, 'he resembled the beloved of a queen'. glich is the past of gleichen.

**40** dem Geliebten einer Königin.  
the beloved of a queen.


**41** Immer wieder war ein Sein zu haben:  
Again and again a being was to be had:
> Being as a noun: das Sein is the infinitive sein, 'to be', turned into a noun, 'a being, an existence'. war zu haben is the sein plus zu construction expressing possibility: 'was to be had'.

**42** die Geschicke angefangner Knaben,  
the fates of boys begun,
> A shortened participle for meter: angefangner is angefangener, the participle of anfangen, 'to begin', with the middle -e- dropped for the meter. die Geschicke angefangner Knaben is genitive plural: 'the fates of boys who were begun'.

**43** die, als hätte man sie nicht gewagt,  
which, as if one had not dared them,
> Another unreal comparison: Another als plus subjunctive II clause: als hätte man sie nicht gewagt, 'as though one had not dared them'. wagen means 'to dare, to risk'; man is the impersonal pronoun.

**44** abgebrochen waren, abgesagt,  
had been broken off, called off,
> Two participles, a state passive: Two participles of separable verbs: abbrechen, 'to break off, abort', and absagen, 'to cancel, call off'. abgebrochen waren is a state passive: 'were broken off, called off'.

**45** nahm er auf und riß sie in sich hin;  
he took up and swept into himself;
> Two separable verbs at once: aufnehmen, 'to take up, take in', and hinreißen, 'to sweep, carry away', are both separable; their particles auf and hin land at the clause's end. riß is the past of reißen, 'to tear'.

**46** denn er mußte einmal nur die Gruft  
for he had only once to walk through the crypt
> An older spelling of musste: Past of müssen, 'to have to'. mußte is the pre-1996 spelling of modern musste. einmal nur means 'just once'; die Gruft is a crypt or burial vault.

**47** solcher Aufgegebener durchschreiten,  
of such abandoned ones to walk through,
> A participle used as a noun: der Aufgegebene is the participle of aufgeben, 'to give up, abandon', made into a noun, 'the abandoned one'. Genitive plural solcher Aufgegebener means 'of such abandoned ones'.

**48** und die Düfte ihrer Möglichkeiten  
and the scents of their possibilities
> The word for possibilities: Plural of die Möglichkeit, 'possibility, potential'. die Düfte ihrer Möglichkeiten means 'the scents of their possibilities', with Düfte, the plural of Duft, 'scent', as the subject of lagen.

**49** lagen wieder in der Luft.  
hung in the air once more.
> Liegen takes the dative: liegen, 'to lie', is a stative verb of position and takes the dative for location: in der Luft, 'in the air'. lagen is its plural past.

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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.