{"work":{"slug":"rilke","title":{"source":"Neue Gedichte","translated":"New Poems"},"author":"Rainer Maria Rilke","language":"German","languageCode":"de","url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke"},"unit":{"kind":"poem","number":null,"id":"die-fensterrose","title":{"source":"Die Fensterrose","translated":"The Rose Window"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/die-fensterrose","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/das-portal","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/das-kapitael","license":"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.","audioBase":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/","lines":[{"number":1,"label":"1","id":"die-fensterrose-s1-l1","source":"Da drin: das träge Treten ihrer Tatzen","translation":"In there: the sluggish padding of their paws","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Da drin","title":"Colloquial word for inside","body":"da drin is a colloquial contraction of da drinnen, 'in there, inside there'. da is the adverb 'there', and drin, 'inside', is the head of the phrase. Together they set the scene inside an enclosed space with no further introduction."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"träge","title":"An adverb meaning sluggish","body":"träge is an adverb meaning slow, listless, heavy with inertia, and it modifies the noun Treten, 'padding, treading'. Treten is a noun formed from the verb treten, 'to tread'. Tatzen is the plural of Tatze, the paw of a large animal."}],"words":[{"surface":"Da","lemma":"da","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on drin","gloss":"there"},{"surface":"drin","lemma":"drin","morphology":"adverb","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"inside"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Treten","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"träge","lemma":"träge","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Treten","gloss":"sluggish"},{"surface":"Treten","lemma":"treten","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"padding"},{"surface":"ihrer","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Tatzen","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Tatzen","lemma":"Tatze","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Treten","gloss":"paws"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"die-fensterrose-s1-l2","source":"macht eine Stille, die dich fast verwirrt;","translation":"makes a stillness that almost bewilders you;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"dich","title":"The accusative pronoun for you","body":"verwirren, 'to confuse, bewilder', takes a direct object in the accusative case, here dich, 'you'. The relative pronoun die stands for eine Stille and is the subject of verwirrt. So die dich fast verwirrt means 'that nearly bewilders you'."}],"words":[{"surface":"macht","lemma":"machen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"makes"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Stille","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Stille","lemma":"Stille","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on macht","gloss":"stillness"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on verwirrt","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"dich","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, second-person, singular","role":"depends on verwirrt","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"fast","lemma":"fast","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on verwirrt","gloss":"almost"},{"surface":"verwirrt","lemma":"verwirren","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"bewilders"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"die-fensterrose-s1-l3","source":"und wie dann plötzlich eine von den Katzen","translation":"and how then suddenly one of the cats","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"und wie dann","title":"wie meaning how","body":"Here wie means 'how, the way in which' rather than 'as', and it opens a subordinate clause. In a subordinate clause the finite verb moves to the end, so the main verb of this clause is delayed until later in the sentence. dann and plötzlich, 'then' and 'suddenly', both describe when the action happens."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on macht","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"how"},{"surface":"dann","lemma":"dann","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on plötzlich","gloss":"then"},{"surface":"plötzlich","lemma":"plötzlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"suddenly"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"one"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on eine","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Katzen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Katzen","lemma":"Katze","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on von","gloss":"cats"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"die-fensterrose-s1-l4","source":"den Blick an ihr, der hin und wieder irrt,","translation":"the gaze upon her, which wanders here and there,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"hin und wieder","title":"Wandering, now and then","body":"hin und wieder is a fixed idiom meaning 'now and then, occasionally'; both hin and wieder depend on the verb irrt. This is not the idiom hin und her, 'back and forth', so the grammar supports a wandering that happens at intervals, not one that moves side to side."}],"words":[{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Blick","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Blick","lemma":"Blick","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"gaze"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Blick","gloss":"upon"},{"surface":"ihr","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on an","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on irrt","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"hin","lemma":"hin","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on irrt","gloss":"here"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on hin","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"wieder","lemma":"wieder","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on irrt","gloss":"there","note":"\"Hin und wieder\" is the standard fixed idiom for \"now and then / occasionally\" — there is no verb splitting it here (hin, und, wieder are consecutive; the verb \"irrt\" follows the whole phrase). This is not the idiom \"hin und her\" (\"back and forth\"), so a spatial \"back and forth\" reading is not supported by the grammar; the gaze wanders now and then, i.e. intermittently."},{"surface":"irrt","lemma":"irren","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"wanders"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"die-fensterrose-s2-l1","source":"gewaltsam in ihr großes Auge nimmt,–","translation":"seizes violently into her great eye, —","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"nimmt","title":"The sentence's main verb arrives","body":"nimmt is the third person singular present of nehmen, 'to take', and it is the main verb the sentence has been building toward. In ihr großes Auge is accusative, marking motion into the eye. Gewaltsam, 'forcibly, violently', describes how the taking happens."}],"words":[{"surface":"gewaltsam","lemma":"gewaltsam","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"violently"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on nimmt,–","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"ihr","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Auge","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"großes","lemma":"groß","morphology":"adjective, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Auge","gloss":"great"},{"surface":"Auge","lemma":"Auge","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"eye"},{"surface":"nimmt,–","lemma":"nehmen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"seizes"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"die-fensterrose-s2-l2","source":"den Blick, der wie von eines Wirbels Kreis","translation":"the gaze, which as if by a whirlpool's ring","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"eines Wirbels Kreis","title":"A genitive placed before its noun","body":"eines Wirbels is genitive, 'of a whirlpool', and normal word order would put it after its noun as der Kreis eines Wirbels. Here it is fronted before Kreis instead, an older and more formal pattern. Wirbel means a whirl, eddy, or vortex."}],"words":[{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Blick","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Blick","lemma":"Blick","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"gaze"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on ergriffen","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ergriffen","gloss":"as if"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ergriffen","gloss":"by"},{"surface":"eines","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Wirbels","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Wirbels","lemma":"Wirbel","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Kreis","gloss":"whirlpool's"},{"surface":"Kreis","lemma":"Kreis","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on von","gloss":"ring"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"die-fensterrose-s2-l3","source":"ergriffen, eine kleine Weile schwimmt","translation":"seized, swims for a little while","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ergriffen","title":"Past participle with two senses","body":"ergriffen is the past participle of ergreifen, 'to seize, to grasp, to take hold of'. It describes something physically gripped or held. The same word also means emotionally 'moved, stirred', so it can carry both senses at once."}],"words":[{"surface":"ergriffen","lemma":"ergreifen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on schwimmt","gloss":"seized"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Weile","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"kleine","lemma":"klein","morphology":"adjective, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Weile","gloss":"little"},{"surface":"Weile","lemma":"Weile","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on schwimmt","gloss":"while"},{"surface":"schwimmt","lemma":"schwimmen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"swims"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"die-fensterrose-s2-l4","source":"und dann versinkt und nichts mehr von sich weiß,","translation":"and then sinks down and knows no more of itself,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"nichts mehr von sich weiß","title":"To know of oneself","body":"von sich wissen literally means 'to know of oneself', that is, to be conscious or aware. nichts mehr von sich wissen means 'to know nothing more of oneself', to lose all self-awareness. weiß, from wissen, depends on und and takes sich as the object of the preposition von."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on versinkt","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"dann","lemma":"dann","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on versinkt","gloss":"then"},{"surface":"versinkt","lemma":"versinken","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on schwimmt","gloss":"sinks"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on versinkt","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"nichts","lemma":"nichts","morphology":"pronoun, neuter","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"nothing"},{"surface":"mehr","lemma":"mehr","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nichts","gloss":"more"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, dative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on von","gloss":"itself"},{"surface":"weiß","lemma":"wissen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"knows"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"die-fensterrose-s3-l1","source":"wenn dieses Auge, welches scheinbar ruht,","translation":"when this eye, which seems to rest,","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"scheinbar","title":"An adverb meaning apparently","body":"scheinbar means 'apparently, seemingly' and, unlike anscheinend, implies the appearance may be false. It modifies the verb ruht, 'rests', in the clause welches scheinbar ruht, 'which seems to rest'. Welches is the relative pronoun agreeing with the neuter noun Auge."}],"words":[{"surface":"wenn","lemma":"wenn","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on auftut","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"dieses","lemma":"dieser","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Auge","gloss":"this"},{"surface":"Auge","lemma":"Auge","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on auftut","gloss":"eye"},{"surface":"welches","lemma":"welcher","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ruht","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"scheinbar","lemma":"scheinbar","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on ruht","gloss":"seemingly"},{"surface":"ruht","lemma":"ruhen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"rests"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"die-fensterrose-s3-l2","source":"sich auftut und zusammenschlägt mit Tosen","translation":"opens itself wide and claps shut with a roar","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zusammenschlägt","title":"A separable verb stays fused","body":"zusammenschlagen, 'to clap or slam shut', is a separable-prefix verb. In this clause it is joined by und to auftut, so the whole verb zusammenschlägt stays together rather than splitting its prefix off. mit Tosen means 'with a roaring', describing the noise as it shuts."}],"words":[{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on auftut","gloss":"itself"},{"surface":"auftut","lemma":"auftun","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the clause","gloss":"opens"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on auftut","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"zusammenschlägt","lemma":"zusammenschlagen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"claps shut"},{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on zusammenschlägt","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"Tosen","lemma":"Tosen","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"a roar"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"die-fensterrose-s3-l3","source":"und ihn hineinreißt bis ins rote Blut–:","translation":"and tears him in, down into the red blood — :","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"hineinreißt","title":"Prefix meaning into","body":"hineinreißen means 'to tear inward, to drag in', combining the directional prefix hinein, 'into, away from the speaker', with reißen, 'to rip, to wrench'. ihn is the accusative pronoun 'him'. bis ins rote Blut means 'right into the red blood', marking how far the tearing goes."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on hineinreißt","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on hineinreißt","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"hineinreißt","lemma":"hineinreißen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"tears in"},{"surface":"bis","lemma":"bis","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hineinreißt","gloss":"down"},{"surface":"ins","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hineinreißt","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"rote","lemma":"rot","morphology":"adjective, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Blut–","gloss":"red"},{"surface":"Blut–","lemma":"Blut","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ins","gloss":"blood"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"die-fensterrose-s4-l1","source":"so griffen einstmals aus dem Dunkelsein","translation":"so once, out of the dark of being,","stanza":4,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s4-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"so griffen einstmals","title":"Past tense marks a shift","body":"so means 'thus, in just this way' and depends on the verb griffen. griffen is the past tense of greifen, 'to seize', third person plural, so the verb tense shifts from present to past here. einstmals is a literary word for 'once, in former times', and Dunkelsein is a compound noun literally meaning 'dark-being'."}],"words":[{"surface":"so","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on griffen","gloss":"so"},{"surface":"griffen","lemma":"greifen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"seized"},{"surface":"einstmals","lemma":"einstmals","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on griffen","gloss":"once"},{"surface":"aus","lemma":"aus","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on griffen","gloss":"out of"},{"surface":"dem","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Dunkelsein","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Dunkelsein","lemma":"Dunkelsein","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on aus","gloss":"dark of being"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"die-fensterrose-s4-l2","source":"der Kathedralen große Fensterrosen","translation":"the cathedrals' great rose windows","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s4-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Kathedralen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Kathedralen","lemma":"Kathedrale","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Fensterrosen","gloss":"cathedrals'"},{"surface":"große","lemma":"groß","morphology":"adjective, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Fensterrosen","gloss":"great"},{"surface":"Fensterrosen","lemma":"Fensterrose","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on griffen","gloss":"rose windows"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"die-fensterrose-s4-l3","source":"ein Herz und rissen es in Gott hinein.","translation":"a heart, and tore it up into God.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-fensterrose-s4-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"in Gott hinein","title":"A doubled directional phrase","body":"rissen is the simple past plural of reißen, 'to tear', taking es, 'it', as its object. In Gott hinein combines the preposition in with the adverb hinein, both marking motion inward, to say 'into God'. Repeating the direction with in and hinein together stresses the motion going all the way inside."}],"words":[{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Herz","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Herz","lemma":"Herz","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on griffen","gloss":"heart"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on rissen","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"rissen","lemma":"reißen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"depends on und","gloss":"tore"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on rissen","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on rissen","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"Gott","lemma":"Gott","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"God"},{"surface":"hinein","lemma":"hinein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on rissen","gloss":"up into"}]}]}