German · New Poems

Die Erblindende

The Woman Going Blind

16 lines · 15 notes

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1
She sat just as the others did at tea.
SieShesie · pronoun, nominative, feminine, singulardepends on saß
saßsatsitzen · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
sojustso · adverbdepends on saß
wieaswie · conjunctiondepends on anderen
dietheder · determiner, nominative, pluraldepends on anderen
anderenothersanderer · pronoun, nominative, pluraldepends on wie
beimatbei · prepositiondepends on saß
TeeteaTee · noun, dative, masculine, singulardepends on beim
GrammarA noun coined from going blind Erblindende is the present participle of erblinden, 'to go blind', turned into a feminine noun with a capital letter: 'the woman going blind'. It names the poem's subject before she is otherwise introduced, in the line that follows.
2
At first it seemed to me as if she held
GrammarAn impersonal way of seeming mir war, literally 'it was to me', is an impersonal construction meaning 'it seemed to me'. mir is dative, the one to whom something seems true. als ob introduces the impression itself, though its verb does not arrive until the next line.
3
her cup a little differently than the rest.
GrammarCompleting an als ob clause fasse is the Subjunctive I form of fassen, 'to hold, grasp', completing the als ob clause begun in the line above: als ob sie... fasse means 'as though she held'. Subjunctive I is common in reported or imagined perception like this.
4
She smiled just once. It almost gave one pain.
Wordtat weh, hurting weh tun means 'to hurt, cause pain'; tat is the past tense of tun, 'to do', here forming the idiom with weh. es tat fast weh means 'it hurt, nearly', with es as an impersonal subject.
5
And when at last the company rose and talked
GrammarAn impersonal one or they man is an impersonal pronoun meaning 'one, people, they' in a general sense, always taking a third-person singular verb. Here it stands for the whole company at tea: als man... sich erhob means 'when the company rose'.
6
and slowly, and as chance happened to bring it,
WordHowever chance happened to bring it der Zufall means 'chance, coincidence'. wie es der Zufall brachte is an idiom meaning 'as chance happened to bring it, however things fell out', describing how people drifted together without plan.
7
went on through many rooms (they talked and laughed),
8
then I saw her. She followed after the rest,
Grammarjemandem nachgehen jemandem nachgehen means 'to follow after someone, go after someone'. nach is the separable prefix, placed at the end of the clause; den andern, 'the others', is dative, the person being followed.
9
held back, like one who in a moment now
WordHeld in check, restrained verhalten is the past participle of sich verhalten used adjectivally, meaning 'restrained, held back, reserved'. It describes how she moved, still and controlled, like someone about to have to perform.
10
will have to sing, and that before a crowd;
Grammarwird... müssen, a double modal future wird... müssen combines werden, forming the future tense, with müssen, 'must, have to': wird singen müssen means 'will have to sing'. The two infinitives, müssen and singen, stack at the end of the clause.
11
upon her bright eyes, which were filled with joy,
Grammarsich freuen, a reflexive verb sich freuen means 'to be glad, rejoice, take pleasure'; it always takes the reflexive pronoun sich as part of its basic meaning. die sich freuten, 'which rejoiced', is a relative clause describing ihren hellen Augen, 'her bright eyes'.
12
there lay a light from outside, as on a pond.
WordLight coming from outside von außen means 'from outside'. Licht von außen means 'light from outside', describing a light that falls on the eyes rather than one that shines from within them, as the comparison to a pond, wie auf einem Teich, makes clear.
13
She followed slowly, and she needed long,
WordTaking a long time brauchen here means 'to need, take (time)'; lang used adverbially means 'a long time'. sie brauchte lang means 'she took a long time', describing how slowly she moved rather than what she needed.
14
as though some thing were not yet climbed across;
Grammarals wäre... überstiegen überstiegen is the past participle of übersteigen, 'to climb over, surmount'. als wäre etwas... überstiegen means 'as though something had not yet been surmounted', using Subjunctive II for an unreal state, with noch nicht, 'not yet', negating it.
15
and yet: as if, once some crossing were made,
WordA noun for crossing over der Übergang means 'crossing, transition, passage'. nach einem Übergang means 'after a crossing', with nach taking the dative. The clause it belongs to, als ob, does not reach its verb, würde, until two lines later.
16
she would no longer walk, but fly.
Grammarnicht mehr..., sondern, correcting a claim sondern means 'but rather, but instead', used only after a negation to correct what was just denied. nicht mehr gehen... sondern fliegen means 'no longer walk... but instead fly', replacing one verb with another.

The particulars

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