# Der Gefangene · The Prisoner

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** Meine Hand hat nur noch eine  
My hand has only one
> Only left, nothing more: The pairing nur noch means 'only, with nothing more remaining'. noch, which usually means 'still', marks something dwindling down to one last thing. Meine Hand hat nur noch eine means 'my hand has only one left', with the noun it describes arriving in the next line.

**2** Gebärde, mit der sie verscheucht;  
gesture left, the one that shoos away;
> To shoo or chase away: verscheuchen means 'to chase or frighten off'; the prefix ver- adds the sense of driving something away. In mit der sie verscheucht, der is a dative relative pronoun governed by mit and refers back to Gebärde. verscheucht is the main verb of that relative clause.

**3** auf die alten Steine  
onto the ancient stones
> auf with the accusative means motion: auf is a two-way preposition: with the dative it states location, 'on', and with the accusative it states motion toward, 'onto'. Die alten Steine is accusative here, so it names a destination rather than a place. Alten agrees with Steine as an accusative plural adjective.

**4** fällt es aus Felsen feucht.  
it falls, damp, out of the rock.
> The preposition aus takes dative: aus always takes the dative case and means 'out of, from inside'. aus Felsen means 'out of the rock'. es is a neuter pronoun with no stated noun it stands for, referring generally to the moisture that is falling.


**5** Ich höre nur dieses Klopfen,  
I hear only this knocking,
> Infinitive used as a noun: klopfen means 'to knock, to tap, to beat'. The nominalized form das Klopfen names the sound itself, 'the knocking'. It is accusative here because it is the direct object of höre, 'I hear'.

**6** und mein Herz hält Schritt  
and my heart keeps pace
> A fixed idiom for keeping pace: Schritt halten mit is a fixed idiom meaning 'to keep pace, to keep step with'. Schritt means 'step, stride', and halten here means 'to keep, maintain'. hält is the main verb, and Schritt is its direct object.

**7** mit dem Gehen der Tropfen  
with the going of the drops
> Genitive plural without an ending: der Tropfen here is the genitive plural of Tropfen, 'drop', meaning 'of the drops'. It depends on das Gehen, a noun made from the verb gehen, 'to go'. Das Gehen der Tropfen together means 'the going of the drops'.

**8** und vergeht damit.  
and passes away with it.
> A verb for fading away: vergehen means 'to pass, elapse, fade away', used of time, pain, or dying. It is present tense third person singular here, agreeing with an earlier subject named in the poem. damit means 'with it, along with it', linking the fading to something mentioned just before.


**9** Tropften sie doch schneller,  
If only they would drip faster,
> A wish with verb first: Putting the verb first in the sentence, together with the particle doch, forms a wish: Tropften sie doch schneller means 'if only they would drip faster'. Tropften is the subjunctive past form of tropfen, 'to drip'. doch adds the sense of longing to the wish.

**10** käme doch wieder ein Tier.  
if only an animal would come again.
> Konjunktiv II of kommen: käme is the Konjunktiv II, or subjunctive, form of kommen, 'to come'. It stands first in the clause, with doch and wieder giving it the force of a wish that has not come true, 'if only it would come again'. ein Tier, 'an animal', is its subject.

**11** Irgendwo war es heller–.  
Somewhere it was brighter–.
> An adverb meaning somewhere: irgendwo means 'somewhere, somewhere or other', leaving the place unspecified. War es heller uses the impersonal pronoun es with war, the past tense of sein, to mean 'it was brighter'. Heller is the comparative of hell, 'bright'.

**12** Aber was wissen wir.  
But what do we know.


**13** II  
II


**14** Denk dir, das was jetzt Himmel ist und Wind,  
Imagine: what is now sky and wind,
> An imperative with reflexive dative: Denk is the informal imperative of denken, 'to think'. dir is the dative reflexive pronoun, so Denk dir literally means 'think to yourself', used idiomatically as 'imagine, picture this'. The whole phrase gives a command addressed directly to the person spoken to.

**15** Luft deinem Mund und deinem Auge Helle,  
air for your mouth and light for your eye,
> Dative with no preposition: deinem Mund and deinem Auge are dative forms used without a preposition, meaning 'for your mouth' and 'for your eye'. This dative marks who benefits from something. Luft deinem Mund means 'air for your mouth', and deinem Auge Helle means 'brightness for your eye'.

**16** das würde Stein bis um die kleine Stelle,  
all that would turn to stone, up to the small spot
> Konjunktiv II with werden: würde is the Konjunktiv II form of werden, and werden plus a predicate noun means 'to turn into', so würde Stein means 'would turn to stone'. das is the subject of würde. bis um die kleine Stelle means 'up to the small spot', with bis depending on um.

**17** an der dein Herz und deine Hände sind.  
where your heart and your hands are.
> A dative relative clause: an der combines the preposition an with the dative relative pronoun der, agreeing with a feminine noun, to mean 'at which, where'. Sind, the plural present of sein, sits at the end of the clause, as German requires in a subordinate clause. Dein Herz und deine Hände are its two subjects, 'your heart and your hands'.


**18** Und was jetzt in dir morgen heißt und: dann  
And what in you now is called tomorrow and: then
> A verb for being named: heißen means 'to be named, be called' and also 'to signify'. was jetzt in dir morgen heißt means 'what right now in you is called tomorrow', naming the sense of future time itself. heißt is present tense third person singular, matching the pronoun was.

**19** und: späterhin und nächstes Jahr und weiter–  
and: later on and next year and onward–
> Adverb for later time: späterhin is an adverb meaning 'later on, subsequently, henceforth'. It appears alongside nächstes Jahr, 'next year', and weiter, 'onward', all joined by repeated und, 'and'. This repetition lists several words for future time one after another.

**20** das würde wund in dir und voller Eiter  
all that would turn raw in you and full of pus
> An adjective for raw skin: wund means 'sore, raw, chafed', describing skin that will not heal. würde wund means 'would turn raw', with wund a predicate adjective depending on würde. voller Eiter means 'full of pus', where voller functions like a preposition before the noun Eiter.

**21** und schwäre nur und bräche nicht mehr an.  
and would only suppurate and never break open again.
> Konjunktiv II of an old verb: schwären is an old verb meaning 'to fester, suppurate', for a sore to run with infection. schwäre is its Konjunktiv II form, continuing a hypothesis begun earlier in the sentence. Bräche, from anbrechen, 'to break open', is negated by nicht mehr, 'no longer', so the sore never bursts.
> A separable verb in the subjunctive: anbrechen, 'to break open, begin', is a separable verb. Its subjunctive form bräche takes the second position in the clause while the prefix an is pushed to the end, giving bräche nicht mehr an, 'would break open no more'. A stranded prefix at the end of a clause is the sign of a separable verb.


**22** Und das was war, das wäre irre und  
And what once was, that would be mad and
> Adjective meaning insane: irre means 'mad, deranged, out of one's mind'. das was war means 'what once was', referring to the past, and wäre irre means 'would be insane'. wäre is the Konjunktiv II form of sein, 'to be', which keeps the statement in the conditional 'would be' rather than a plain fact.

**23** raste in dir herum, den lieben Mund,  
would rampage about inside you, the dear mouth,
> Separable verb, prefix at the end: herumrasen, 'to rage or rampage around', is a separable verb, so its prefix herum moves to the end of the clause: raste in dir herum means 'would rage around inside you'. rasen alone means 'to rave, to move wildly'. den lieben Mund is accusative, extending the verb's reach to the mouth.

**24** der niemals lachte, schäumend von Gelächter.  
that never laughed, frothing with laughter.
> Present participle meaning frothing: schäumen means 'to foam, froth', of waves or a mouth, and schäumend is its present participle, 'frothing'. It depends on the noun Mund named earlier in the poem. Von Gelächter, 'with laughter', names what the mouth is frothing with.


**25** Und das was Gott war, wäre nur dein Wächter  
And what was God would be only your guard
> A noun meaning watchman: der Wächter means a watchman or guard, here used for a prison warder. das was Gott war is the subject, 'what once was God', and wäre nur dein Wächter is the subjunctive predicate, 'would be only your guard'. nur, 'only, merely', limits the noun that follows it.

**26** und stopfte boshaft in das letzte Loch  
and would spitefully stuff into the last hole
> Verb meaning to stuff: stopfen means 'to stuff, to cram, to plug', as with a hole or a pipe. stopfte in das letzte Loch means 'would cram into the last hole'. in das Loch takes the accusative because it marks motion into a place, and boshaft, 'malicious, spiteful', describes how the action is done.

**27** ein schmutziges Auge. Und du lebtest doch.  
a filthy eye. And you would go on living all the same.
> Konjunktiv II, second person: lebtest is the Konjunktiv II form of leben, 'to live', in the second person singular. doch here means 'and yet, all the same'. Und du lebtest doch means 'and yet you would go on living', a hypothetical statement rather than a fact.

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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.