# Der Käferstein · The Scarab

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

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

**1** Sind nicht Sterne fast in deiner Nähe,  
Are not stars almost in your nearness,
> Verb-first word order for a question: Sind stands first, the German order for a yes/no question: 'Are not stars ...?'. nicht makes it rhetorical. in deiner Nähe is dative after in, 'in your nearness'; the sentence continues through line 4.

**2** und was gibt es, das du nicht umspannst,  
and what is there that you do not encompass,
> Inseparable prefix stays attached: umspannen means 'to span, encircle'. Its prefix um- is inseparable, so it stays fused to the verb: du umspannst, 'you encompass'. was gibt es, das is 'what is there that', with das picking up the neuter was as its antecedent.

**3** da du dieser harten Skarabäe  
since you cannot grasp at all the carnelian
> Causal da, verb held back: da here is the causal conjunction 'since, because', which sends its finite verb to the end of the clause, landing on kannst in line 4. dieser harten Skarabäe is genitive plural, 'of these hard scarabs', depending on the noun in the next line.

**4** Karneolkern gar nicht fassen kannst  
core of these hard scarabs at all —
> Verb-final after a subordinator: Because da is a subordinating conjunction, the finite verb kannst goes to the very end of the clause, after the infinitive it governs: fassen kannst, '... can grasp'. gar nicht intensifies the negation to 'not at all'.


**5** ohne jenen Raum, der ihre Schilder  
without that space which presses their wing-cases
> ohne takes the accusative: ohne, 'without', always takes the accusative, here jenen Raum, 'that space'; jenen is the masculine accusative of jener, 'that one'. The relative clause opens with der, 'which', referring back to Raum.
> An insect's hard wing-cases: Schild, plural Schilder, means 'shield'. Applied to a beetle it names the hard wing-cases, or elytra, covering its back. A different plural, Schilde, is used for a warrior's shield; Schilder also serves for signboards.

**6** niederhält, auf deinem ganzen Blut  
down, to carry along upon your whole blood;
> Separable prefix rejoins in a relative clause: niederhalten means 'to hold down'. It is separable, prefix nieder- plus halten, but inside the relative clause der ihre Schilder niederhält the prefix re-attaches at the clause end: niederhält, 'holds down'. Raum is its subject.

**7** mitzutragen; niemals war er milder,  
never was it gentler,
> zu-infinitive of a separable verb: mittragen means 'to carry along, help bear'. As a zu-infinitive, zu is inserted between the prefix and stem: mit-zu-tragen. It completes ohne ... mitzutragen, 'without also bearing along', from the line above.

**8** näher, hingegebener. Er ruht  
nearer, more given-over. It rests
> Comparative of a past participle: hingegeben is the past participle of sich hingeben, 'to give oneself over', used as an adjective meaning 'devoted, surrendered'. hingegebener is its comparative, 'more given-over', paired here with milder and näher, also comparatives.


**9** seit Jahrtausenden auf diesen Käfern,  
for thousands of years upon these beetles,
> seit takes the dative: seit, 'since, for', takes the dative. Jahrtausenden is the dative plural of das Jahrtausend, 'millennium', with the -n ending German adds to most plural nouns after a dative preposition. auf diesen Käfern is likewise dative, marking where something rests.

**10** wo ihn keiner braucht und unterbricht;  
where no one needs it and breaks it off;
> unterbrechen, an inseparable verb: unterbrechen means 'to interrupt, break off'; its prefix unter- is inseparable, so it stays fused: unterbricht, '(it) interrupts'. ihn, accusative 'it', is the shared object of both braucht und unterbricht. keiner means 'no one'.

**11** und die Käfer schließen sich und schläfern  
and the beetles close themselves and grow drowsy
> Reflexive verb for closing: sich schließen is the reflexive verb 'to close oneself, shut'. die Käfer schließen sich means 'the beetles close themselves up'. schläfern normally takes no personal subject; here it is used with die Käfer to mean 'grow drowsy'.

**12** unter seinem wiegenden Gewicht.  
under its cradling weight.
> Present participle used as adjective: wiegend is the present participle of wiegen, 'to rock, cradle', used here as an adjective: wiegendes Gewicht, 'cradling weight'. unter seinem wiegenden Gewicht is dative after unter, 'under'. wiegen also means 'to weigh'.

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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.