# Die Insel · The Island

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** Die nächste Flut verwischt den Weg im Watt,  
The next tide blurs the path across the flats,
> The tidal mudflats: das Watt is the mudflat of the North Sea coast, bare at low tide and covered again at high tide. der Weg im Watt is a path that exists only between tides. verwischen means 'to blur, to wipe away'.

**2** und alles wird auf allen Seiten gleich;  
and on every side all things become the same;

**3** die kleine Insel draußen aber hat  
but the little island out there has
> Contrast word placed mid clause: aber, 'but', need not stand first in its clause. Here it follows the subject, die kleine Insel draußen aber, and still marks the whole clause as a contrast. The finite verb hat keeps second position, its object die Augen following next line.

**4** die Augen zu; verwirrend kreist der Deich  
its eyes shut; bewilderingly the dyke wheels round
> Separable verb split by line break: die Augen zuhaben means 'to have one's eyes shut'. The separable verb splits: hat stands in the line above and its prefix zu lands here, so together hat die Augen zu means 'has its eyes shut'. verwirrend, 'bewilderingly', modifies kreist, 'wheels'.


**5** um ihre Wohner, die in einen Schlaf  
around its dwellers, who into a sleep
> Verb completed across the stanza: The stanza break does not end the sentence: kreist der Deich um ihre Wohner means 'the dyke wheels around its dwellers'. um plus accusative, 'around', governs ihre Wohner, and in einen Schlaf is also accusative, marking motion into.

**6** geboren werden, drin sie viele Welten  
are born, wherein they many worlds
> A short form of darin: drin is a clipped form of darin, 'in it, therein', here meaning 'within which'. It points back to Schlaf, the sleep they are born into, and opens a subordinate clause whose verb is held to the end.

**7** verwechseln schweigend; denn sie reden selten,  
confuse in silence; for they seldom speak,
> Means to mix up things: verwechseln means 'to mix up, to mistake one thing for another', not simply 'to confuse'. schweigend, 'in silence', is the present participle of schweigen, and denn, 'for', introduces the reason that follows: sie reden selten, 'they seldom speak'.

**8** und jeder Satz ist wie ein Epitaph  
and every sentence is like an epitaph


**9** für etwas Angeschwemmtes, Unbekanntes,  
for something washed ashore, unknown,
> Adjective turned into a noun after etwas: After etwas, 'something', an adjective is capitalized and given a neuter -es ending: etwas Angeschwemmtes, Unbekanntes means 'something washed ashore, unknown'. angeschwemmt is the past participle of anschwemmen, 'to wash up, to deposit by water'.

**10** das unerklärt zu ihnen kommt und bleibt.  
that comes to them unexplained, and stays.

**11** Und so ist alles, was ihr Blick beschreibt,  
And so all that their gaze takes in is this,
> Can also mean to trace: beschreiben usually means 'to describe', but of an eye or a moving point it can also mean 'to trace, to circumscribe' a shape. alles, was ihr Blick beschreibt means 'everything their gaze takes in', with was referring back to alles.


**12** von Kindheit an: nicht auf sie Angewandtes,  
from childhood on: not applied to them,
> Frame meaning from onward: The frame von … an means 'from … onward'; von Kindheit an means 'from childhood on'. an is a particle placed at the end of the phrase, not a preposition before its noun.

**13** zu Großes, Rücksichtsloses, Hergesandtes,  
too vast, inconsiderate, sent here from afar,
> Without regard, sent from afar: rücksichtslos means 'inconsiderate, heedless', literally 'without Rücksicht, regard for others'. hergesandt is the past participle of hersenden, 'to send here'. Both are nominalized as neuter -es nouns continuing a list.

**14** das ihre Einsamkeit noch übertreibt.  
and only deepens their loneliness the more.
> Used of loneliness, not exaggeration: übertreiben usually means 'to exaggerate', but applied to Einsamkeit, 'loneliness', it means 'to carry to excess, to heighten'. noch means 'still more', and das refers back to the things listed in the lines above.


## II


**15** Als läge er in einem Kraterkreise  
As if it lay within a ring of craters
> Introducing an unreal comparison: als by itself, without ob, can mean 'as though', and the finite verb follows it right away: als läge er means 'as though it lay'. läge is the past subjunctive of liegen, 'to lie', marking the comparison as unreal.

**16** auf einem Mond: ist jeder Hof umdämmt,  
upon a moon: each farmstead lies walled round,
> Walled round by an embankment: umdämmt is the past participle of umdämmen, 'to embank all around', from der Damm, 'dyke, embankment'. jeder Hof ist umdämmt means 'every farmstead is diked round'.

**17** und drin die Gärten sind auf gleiche Weise  
and there within, the gardens in like manner

**18** gekleidet und wie Waisen gleich gekämmt  
are dressed, and combed alike like orphans
> Combed alike, like orphans: die Waise means 'orphan', and gekämmt is the past participle of kämmen, 'to comb'. wie Waisen gleich gekämmt means 'combed alike, like orphans', describing gardens dressed all the same way.


**19** von jenem Sturm, der sie so rauh erzieht  
by that storm which rears them up so harshly
> To raise a child: erziehen means 'to bring up, to raise' a child. Applied to the storm, jenem Sturm, der sie so rauh erzieht means 'that storm which rears them so harshly'. jenem Sturm is dative after the agent von.

**20** und tagelang sie bange macht mit Toden.  
and for days on end makes them afraid with deaths.
> Jemandem bange machen, to frighten: bange machen means 'to frighten, to make afraid', from bange, 'anxious'. tagelang means 'for days on end', and mit Toden uses an old plural of der Tod, 'death', meaning 'with deaths'.

**21** Dann sitzt man in den Häusern drin und sieht  
Then one sits inside the houses, there, and sees
> Impersonal man with drin: man is the impersonal pronoun 'one, people in general' and takes a singular verb, man sitzt und sieht, 'one sits and sees'. in den Häusern drin doubles the sense of enclosure, in plus the colloquial drin, 'inside'.

**22** in schiefen Spiegeln, was auf den Kommoden  
in crooked mirrors what upon the dressers
> Schief and die Kommode: schief means 'crooked, slanted', so in schiefen Spiegeln means 'in crooked mirrors'. die Kommode, plural Kommoden, is a chest of drawers, and was is the object of sieht and the subject of steht in the next line.


**23** Seltsames steht. Und einer von den Söhnen  
stands, strange. And one among the sons
> Sentence continues past the stanza break: The sentence runs on from the previous stanza: was auf den Kommoden Seltsames steht means 'what strange thing stands on the dressers'. Seltsames is a neuter adjectival noun, and einer von den Söhnen means 'one of the sons'.

**24** tritt abends vor die Tür und zieht ein Tönen  
steps out the door at evening and draws a sound
> Accusative after vor for motion: vor is a two-way preposition that takes the accusative with motion toward, so vor die Tür treten means 'to step outside'. ziehen here means 'to draw out, to coax' a sound, continued by aus in the next line.

**25** aus der Harmonika wie Weinen weich;  
from the accordion, soft as weeping;
> Accordion compared to weeping: die Harmonika is a hand-held accordion or concertina. das Weinen is the verb weinen, 'to weep', used as a noun, and wie Weinen weich means 'soft as weeping'.


**26** so hörte ers in einem fremden Hafen–.  
so he had heard it in a foreign harbor—.
> Fuses er and es together: ers is a contraction of er es, 'he it', so hörte ers means 'he heard it'. hörte is the simple past of hören, and in einem fremden Hafen means 'in a foreign harbor'.

**27** Und draußen formt sich eines von den Schafen  
And out there one among the sheep takes shape,
> Reflexive sich formen: sich formen means 'to take shape, to form itself'; the reflexive sich makes the sheep the thing that takes shape rather than something being shaped. eines von den Schafen means 'one of the sheep', with the verb fronted after und draußen.

**28** ganz groß, fast drohend, auf dem Außendeich.  
huge, almost menacing, upon the outer dyke.
> Drohend and der Außendeich: drohend is the present participle of drohen, 'to threaten', used as an adjective meaning 'menacing'. der Außendeich is the outer, seaward dyke, the first barrier against the flood.


## III


**29** Nah ist nur Innres; alles andre fern.  
Near is only the inward; all else is far.
> A contracted noun for inward: das Innre, a contracted form of das Innere, means 'the inner part, the inward'. nah, 'near', is fronted for emphasis, and andre is a clipped form of andere, 'other'.

**30** Und dieses Innere gedrängt und täglich  
And this interior, crowded and quotidian,
> Two participles used as adjectives: gedrängt is the past participle of drängen, 'to press, to crowd', used as an adjective meaning 'crammed, dense'. täglich means 'daily, everyday'. The clause has no finite verb of its own; it leans on dieses Innere from the line before.

**31** mit allem überfüllt und ganz unsäglich.  
overfilled with everything, and quite unspeakable.
> Überfüllt and unsäglich: überfüllt, the past participle of überfüllen, means 'overfilled, crammed full'. unsäglich means 'unspeakable, ineffable', built from sagen, 'to say', with un- and -lich.

**32** Die Insel ist wie ein zu kleiner Stern,  
The island is like a too-small star,
> Meaning too before an adjective: zu before an adjective means 'too', so ein zu kleiner Stern means 'a too-small star'. der Stern means 'star', and the adjective klein takes the strong -er ending after ein.


**33** welchen der Raum nicht merkt und stumm zerstört  
which space takes no note of, and mutely destroys
> Accusative relative pronoun as object: welchen is the masculine accusative relative pronoun, 'which', object of both merkt and zerstört. der Raum, 'space', is the subject, and stumm means 'mute, silently'.

**34** in seinem unbewußten Furchtbarsein,  
in its unconscious dreadful being,
> A coined noun for dreadful being: unbewußt, an old spelling of unbewusst, means 'unconscious, unaware'. das Furchtbarsein welds furchtbar, 'dreadful', to sein, 'to be', into a noun meaning 'dreadful being'.

**35** so daß er, unerhellt und überhört,  
so that it, unlit and unheard,
> Sends the verb to clause end: so daß, an old spelling of so dass, means 'so that' and introduces a result, sending its finite verb to the end. unerhellt means 'unlit', and überhört is the past participle of überhören, 'to fail to hear'.

**36** allein,  
alone,


**37** damit dies alles doch ein Ende nehme,  
that all of this might come at last to an end,
> Subjunctive of purpose: damit means 'so that, in order that' and introduces purpose, sending its verb, nehme, to the clause's end. nehme is the Konjunktiv I subjunctive of nehmen, and ein Ende nehmen is a set phrase meaning 'to come to an end'.

**38** dunkel auf einer selbsterfundnen Bahn  
darkly, on a self-invented orbit,
> A self-invented path or orbit: selbsterfunden means 'self-invented', from selbst and erfinden; its ending -nen is a clipped form of -enen, the full dative feminine form being selbsterfundenen. die Bahn means 'path, track, orbit'.

**39** versucht zu gehen, blindlings, nicht im Plan  
tries to go, blindly, not within the plan
> An adverb formed with -lings: blindlings means 'blindly, headlong', formed with the suffix -lings, as in rücklings, 'backward'. versucht zu gehen means 'tries to go', using versuchen zu plus an infinitive.

**40** der Wandelsterne, Sonnen und Systeme.  
of the wandering stars, the suns and systems.
> The old word for planet: der Wandelstern, 'wandering star', is an old German word for a planet, a body that moves against the fixed stars. der Wandelsterne, Sonnen und Systeme is a genitive plural depending on Plan in the line before.

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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.