German · New Poems

Der Turm

The Tower

23 lines · 24 notes

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1
Earth-interior. As though there, toward which
Erdinneresearth's interiorErdinneres · noun, nominative, neuter, singularhead of the phrase
Alsas thoughals · subordinating conjunctiondepends on wäre
wäreweresein · auxiliary verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
dorttheredort · adverbdepends on wäre
wohintoward whichwohin · subordinating conjunctiondepends on steigst
WordA compound for earth's interior Erdinneres is a compound and nominalized adjective meaning 'the earth's interior', joining Erde, 'earth', with innere, 'inner'. It is nominative here, naming the place the sentence goes on to describe.
GrammarAn unreal clause, verb first als introduces an unreal comparison and moves the verb to the front when ob does not appear: Als wäre, 'as though there were'. wäre is the past subjunctive of sein, 'to be'.
2
you blindly climb, the earth's surface waits,
WordThe suffix -lings blindlings is an adverb meaning 'blindly', built with the suffix -lings that also appears in words like rücklings, 'backward'. du blindlings steigst means 'you climb blindly'.
3
to which you climb in the slanting bed of streams,
GrammarA preposition plus relative pronoun zu der combines the preposition zu, 'to', with the relative pronoun der, 'which', dative feminine, referring back to Erdenoberfläche, 'the earth's surface'. It sends du steigst, 'you climb', into a relative clause describing the surface.
4
that slowly out of the searching channel
WordA rare noun for a channel das Gerinn is a rare, poetic noun for 'a channel' or 'trickle of water', related to rinnen, 'to run' or 'trickle'. dem suchenden Gerinn, 'the searching channel', is dative after aus, 'out of'.
5
of darkness have sprung, through which
Grammarentspringen, to spring from entspringen means 'to spring' or 'arise from' a source, and forms its perfect tense with sein rather than haben: sind entsprungen, 'have sprung'. der Dunkelheit, genitive here, names 'the darkness' as that source.
6
your face, as if resurrecting, presses,
Grammardrängt with a reflexive object sich drängen means 'to press forward' or 'push oneself'. sich dein Gesicht … drängt places the reflexive sich early, and the subject dein Gesicht, 'your face', and the verb drängt, 'presses', at the end of the clause.
WordA participle for rising again auferstehend is the present participle of auferstehen, 'to rise again' or 'resurrect', used here adverbially. wie auferstehend describes the manner in which the face presses forward, 'as though rising'.
7
and which you suddenly see, as though it fell
GrammarAn unreal clause with fallen als introduces an unreal comparison and moves the verb to the front: als fiele sie, 'as though it fell'. fiele is the past subjunctive of fallen, 'to fall'.
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out of this abyss that overhangs you
Wordder Abgrund, an abyss der Abgrund means 'abyss' or 'chasm', literally the ground's absence. diesem Abgrund is dative after aus, 'out of', naming the place something emerges from.
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and which you, as it hugely above you
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topples over in the dusking framework of beams,
Wordsich umstürzen, to topple sich umstürzen means 'to topple over' or 'collapse'. umstürzt is its third-person present, agreeing with an implied subject continuing from the earlier line.
WordGestühl, a framework das Gestühl usually means 'a set of seats or pews', but here it names 'a framework of wooden beams', using the collective ge- prefix pattern seen in words like Gebälk. dem dämmernden Gestühle takes the older dative ending -e after in.
11
recognize, terrified and fearing, in the feeling:
GrammarParticiple plus present participle erschreckt, 'terrified', is the past participle of erschrecken, 'to frighten', used adjectivally, and fürchtend, 'fearing', is the present participle of fürchten, 'to fear'. Both describe the state of the person who erkennst, 'recognizes'.
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oh when it rises, draped over like a bull—:
WordA participle for draped or hung behängen is the past participle of behängen, 'to hang something over' or 'drape', used adjectively here to mean 'draped, hung with something'. wie ein Stier, 'like a bull', gives the comparison for how it is draped.
GrammarDash and colon together This punctuation combines a dash and a colon, a mark Rilke uses to hold a thought open before it resolves into what follows. It reads as longer than a comma but still forward-looking, unlike a full stop.
13
But then a windy light takes you out of the narrow
GrammarDa aber, but then Da here is an adverb meaning 'then' or 'at that point', not the conjunction 'since'. aber, 'but', follows it to mark contrast. nimmt dich aus der engen Endung means 'takes you out of the narrow ending'.
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ending; windy light. Almost flying, you see here
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the heavens again, dazzlement over dazzlement,
WordA noun for dazzlement die Blendung is a noun formed from blenden, 'to dazzle' or 'blind', meaning 'the state of being dazzled'. Blendung über Blendung, 'dazzlement over dazzlement', repeats the noun for emphasis.
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and there the depths, awake and full of use,
WordA noun for use or application die Verwendung means 'use' or 'application', from verwenden, 'to use' or 'employ'. voll Verwendung, 'full of use', takes the genitive Verwendung after voll, 'full of'.
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and little days as in Patinir,
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simultaneous ones, with hour beside hour,
GrammarAn adjective used as a noun gleichzeitige is the adjective gleichzeitig, 'simultaneous', used here as a plural noun through its ending, meaning 'simultaneous ones'. It continues a list of things named in the sentence before it.
19
through which the bridges leap like dogs,
GrammarTwo forms of die in a row The first die is the relative pronoun 'which', accusative plural, referring back to an earlier noun. The second die is the definite article 'the', nominative plural, belonging to Brücken, 'bridges', the subject of springen.
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always on the trail of the bright road,
GrammarA fixed phrase for on the trail auf der Spur is a fixed phrase meaning 'on the trail' or 'track of' something, taking the dative after auf here because it describes a fixed position, not motion toward. dem hellen Wege, 'the bright road', is the dative object this phrase depends on.
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which clumsy houses only now and then
Wordunbeholfen, clumsy unbeholfen means 'clumsy' or 'awkward', built from the negating prefix un- and beholfen, 'resourceful'. unbeholfne is a shortened poetic form, dropping the expected -e before the ending, describing die Häuser, 'the houses'.
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hide, until far off in the background it
WordA verb for hiding verbergen means 'to hide' or 'conceal', formed from bergen, 'to shelter', with the prefix ver-. Here it is third-person plural, agreeing with an implied subject continuing from the line before, likely die Häuser, 'the houses'.
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goes on calmed through thicket and open country.
GrammarA participle used as an adverb beruhigt is the past participle of beruhigen, 'to calm', used here adverbially rather than as part of a passive verb. It describes the manner of geht, 'goes', meaning 'goes on calmed'.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
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