German · New Poems: The Other Part

Der Apfelgarten

The Apple Orchard

16 lines · 15 notes

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1
Come just after the setting of the sun;
KommComekommen · verb, imperative, second-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
gleichjustgleich · adverbdepends on nach
nachafternach · prepositiondepends on Komm
demtheder · determiner, dative, masculine, singulardepends on Sonnenuntergänge
SonnenuntergängesunsetSonnenuntergang · noun, dative, masculine, singulardepends on nach
WordCompound noun for sunset Sonnenuntergänge is dative singular here, from Sonnenuntergang, 'sunset', combining Sonne, 'sun', unter, 'under', and Gang, 'going'. nach dem Sonnenuntergänge means 'after the sunset'.
2
look at the evening-green of the lawn;
GrammarGenitive after des des Rasengrunds is genitive singular of der Rasengrund, 'lawn, grassy ground', combining Rasen, 'lawn, turf', and Grund, 'ground'. It depends on Abendgrün, 'evening-green of the lawn'.
3
is it not as though we had long
GrammarSubjunctive after als, as though als hätten wir uses hätten, the Konjunktiv II (subjunctive) of haben, 'to have'. als plus the subjunctive means 'as though': 'as though we had long gathered it'.
4
gathered and saved it up within us,
WordTwo past participles, gathered and saved angesammelt and erspart are past participles of ansammeln, 'to gather, to accumulate', and ersparen, 'to save up'. Together they describe what was 'gathered and saved' in uns, 'within us'.
5
in order now, out of feeling and remembering,
GrammarSetting up a later purpose um here begins an um ... zu construction, 'in order to', completed by hinzustreun several lines later. jetzt aus Fühlen und Erinnern names the material the purpose clause will describe scattering.
6
new hope, half-forgotten gladness,
WordGladness, not a friend Freun is a poetic elision of Freuen, the infinitive of sich freuen, 'to rejoice', used as a noun meaning 'gladness'. It is not related to Freund, 'friend'. halbvergeßnem Freun means 'half-forgotten gladness'.
7
still mingled with darkness from within,
WordNoun for the inward part Innern is dative singular of das Innere, 'the inward part, the interior', a noun formed from the adjective inner, 'inner'. aus dem Innern means 'from within'.
8
to scatter out before us in our thoughts,
GrammarInfinitive completes a purpose clause hinzustreun is a poetic elision of hinzustreuen, the infinitive of hinstreuen, 'to scatter out', dropping the final -en for the meter. It completes the um ... zu construction begun earlier: 'in order to scatter it out before us'.
9
beneath trees as if by Dürer, which
GrammarAccusative shows motion, not location unter, 'under, beneath', can take either accusative or dative depending on whether motion or location is meant. unter Bäume is accusative, showing motion: 'beneath trees', into that space, not simply resting there.
10
the weight of a hundred days of labor
11
bear in their overladen fruit,
WordDative plural for overladen überfüllten is the dative plural of überfüllt, 'overfilled, overladen', from über-, 'over', plus füllen, 'to fill'. in den überfüllten Früchten means 'in their overladen fruit'.
12
serving, full of patience, testing how
GrammarTwo present participles in a row dienend and versuchend are present participles of dienen, 'to serve', and versuchen, 'to try, to test'. Both describe the same unstated subject, stringing together qualities without a main verb: 'serving, full of patience, testing'.
13
that which surpasses all measure
GrammarA relative clause with was das, was ... übersteigt uses was as a relative pronoun after the neutral antecedent das, 'that which'. was alle Maße übersteigt means 'which surpasses all measure', with übersteigen, 'to surpass', as the verb.
14
can still be lifted and given over,
GrammarCan still be, passive sense noch zu heben ist uses zu plus the infinitive to mean 'can still be lifted', a passive sense like nicht mehr zu bestreiten elsewhere in these poems. heben means 'to lift'; hinzugeben means 'to give over'.
15
if one, willing, through a long life
GrammarAn impersonal subject pronoun man is an impersonal pronoun meaning 'one, a person', used as the subject of a general statement. wenn man willig ... means 'if one, willing, ...', not naming any particular person.
16
wills the One thing only, and grows, and stays silent?
WordA noun for the One das Eine, 'the One thing', is a noun formed from the numeral eine, capitalized and given the article das. nur das Eine will und wächst und schweigt means 'wills, grows, and stays silent only as the One thing does'.

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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