German · New Poems: The Other Part

Der Reliquienschrein

The Reliquary

23 lines · 24 notes

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1
Outside, on every ring there waited
Draußenoutsidedraußen · adverbdepends on wartete
wartetewaitedwarten · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
aufonauf · prepositiondepends on wartete
alleeveryaller · determiner, accusative, masculine, pluraldepends on Ringe
RingeringsRing · noun, accusative, masculine, pluraldepends on auf
GrammarWaiting for, with accusative warten means 'to wait'; naming what is waited for takes auf plus the accusative, warten auf alle Ringe, 'to wait for all the rings'. The verb wartete opens the sentence before its subject, Schicksal, appears two lines later.
2
and on each link of chain
WordThe noun for a chain link das Kettenglied is a compound of die Kette, 'chain', and das Glied, 'limb, link, member', meaning 'a link of chain'. jedes Kettenglied, 'each link of chain', is accusative, joined by und to alle Ringe as another object of auf from the line before.
3
fate, which does not come to pass without them.
GrammarThe verb for happening geschieht is the third-person present of geschehen, 'to happen, to occur', a verb that takes no object. das nicht ohne sie geschieht means 'which does not happen without them', with das a relative pronoun referring to Schicksal, 'fate'.
4
Inside they were only things, things,
WordInside, opposite of outside drinnen means 'inside, indoors', answering the question where. It answers draußen, 'outside', from the poem's first line. Drinnen waren sie nur Dinge means 'inside they were only things', with Dinge the predicate complement of waren.
5
that he forged; for before the smith
GrammarA coordinating word for because denn means 'for, because'. Unlike the subordinating conjunction weil, denn is a coordinating conjunction and does not send the verb to the end of its clause; normal word order continues after it. vor dem Schmied, 'before the smith', uses the dative dem after vor.
6
even the crown that he bent
GrammarPast tense of biegen bog is the simple past of the strong verb biegen, 'to bend, to curve'. die Krone, die er bog means 'the crown that he bent', a relative clause with die as its object and bog as its verb, placed at the clause's end as German requires.
7
only a thing, a trembling thing, and one
GrammarPresent participle used as adjective zitternd, 'shaking, quivering', is the present participle of zittern, 'to shake, to quiver', used here as an adjective with a neuter ending, zitterndes. German forms such adjectives from most verbs. ein zitterndes [Ding] means 'a shaking thing'.
8
that he, grim as if in anger, schooled
WordThe verb for raising or educating erzog is the simple past of erziehen, normally 'to raise, to educate, to bring up a child'. das ... er ... erzog means 'that he raised', a relative clause with das referring to Ding from an earlier line. zu dem Tragen names the goal stated in the next line.
9
to the bearing of a pure stone.
GrammarInfinitive used as a noun das Tragen is the infinitive tragen, 'to carry, to bear', used as a neuter noun, 'the carrying, the bearing'. zu dem Tragen eines reinen Steines means 'to the bearing of a pure stone', with eines reinen Steines in the genitive after Tragen.
10
His eyes grew ever colder
GrammarEver with a comparative immer before a comparative adjective means 'ever more, increasingly'; immer kälter means 'colder and colder, ever colder'. wurden is the past tense of werden, 'to become', so Seine Augen wurden immer kälter means 'his eyes grew ever colder'.
11
from the cold daily drink;
WordThe noun for a drink das Getränk means 'drink, beverage, draught', formed from trinken, 'to drink'. von dem kalten täglichen Getränk means 'from the cold daily drink', with von plus the dative dem Getränk giving the cause named in the line before.
12
but when the glorious vessel
GrammarWhen, for one past event als means 'when' for a single completed event in the past, unlike wenn, which marks repeated occasions. As a subordinating conjunction it sends its verb to the end of its clause. Here that verb, stand, does not appear until two lines later.
13
(gold-chased, precious, many-carated)
WordA compound for gold chasing goldgetrieben combines Gold with getrieben, the past participle of treiben, which in metalwork means 'to chase, to emboss', raising a relief by hammering from behind. So goldgetrieben means 'worked in chased gold'. It describes Behälter, 'vessel', from the line before.
14
stood finished before him, the votive gift,
WordThe noun for a votive gift das Weihgeschenk combines weihen, 'to consecrate, to dedicate', and das Geschenk, 'gift', meaning 'a votive offering'. It stands in apposition to Behälter, restating the finished vessel as an object given to a shrine.
15
so that inside it a small wrist
GrammarIntroducing a purpose clause daß, spelled dass in current orthography, introduces a subordinate clause and sends its verb to the end. daß darin ein kleines Handgelenk ... means 'so that inside it a small wrist ...', stating a purpose. Its verb, wohne, appears in the next line.
16
might henceforth dwell, white and miracle-working:
GrammarSubjunctive after daß wohne is the present subjunctive, Konjunktiv I, of wohnen, 'to dwell, to live', used in the purpose clause opened by daß in the line before: 'so that a small wrist might dwell'. fürder is an old adverb meaning 'henceforth, from now on'.
17
he stayed endlessly upon his knees,
GrammarVerb before subject blieb is the past tense of bleiben, 'to remain, to stay'. Because the preceding aber als clause fills first position, the finite verb blieb takes first position in the main clause and the subject er follows it. auf den Knien, 'on his knees', uses the dative den after auf.
18
thrown down, weeping, daring no more,
GrammarPast participle of hinwerfen hingeworfen is the past participle of the separable verb hinwerfen, 'to throw down, to fling down', from werfen, 'to throw', with the prefix hin-. Used without an auxiliary, it describes a state, 'thrown down', joining weinend and wagend in a series describing er.
19
casting his soul down low,
WordThe verb for casting down niederschlagend is the present participle of the separable verb niederschlagen, 'to strike down, to cast down, to lower', from schlagen, 'to strike', with the prefix nieder-, 'down'. seine Seele niederschlagend means 'casting his soul down', with Seele as its accusative object.
20
before the tranquil ruby,
GrammarDative after vor for position vor takes the dative to mark a fixed position, 'before, in front of'. vor dem ruhigen Rubin means 'before the tranquil ruby', with dem and ruhigen in the dative agreeing with Rubin. The phrase depends on niederschlagend from the line before.
21
which seemed to perceive him
WordThe verb for perceiving gewahren means 'to perceive, to become aware of, to notice'. der ihn zu gewahren schien means 'which seemed to perceive him', with der a relative pronoun referring back to Rubin and schien, 'seemed', governing the infinitive zu gewahren.
22
and, suddenly questioning him about his existence,
Grammarfragen um plus accusative fragend is the present participle of fragen, 'to ask'; naming what is asked about takes um plus the accusative, um sein Dasein fragend, 'asking about his existence'. das Dasein, from da, 'there', and sein, 'to be', is the noun for 'existence'.
23
looked at him as if out of dynasties.
GrammarSeparable verb in the past ansah is the simple past of the separable verb ansehen, 'to look at, to regard'; the prefix an- rejoins the verb in the simple past. wie aus Dynastien, 'as though out of dynasties', depends on ansah, naming the manner of the look.
WordThe noun for dynasties die Dynastie, plural Dynastien, means 'dynasty', a line of rulers. wie aus Dynastien means 'as though out of dynasties', with Dynastien dative plural after aus. The phrase describes the manner of ansah, the look given in this line.

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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