{"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-irren","title":{"source":"Die Irren","translated":"The Madmen"},"section":"New Poems: The Other Part","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/die-irren","lines":13},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/irre-im-garten","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/aus-dem-leben-eines-heiligen","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-irren-s1-l1","source":"Und sie schweigen, weil die Scheidewände","translation":"And they are silent, because the dividing walls","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Scheidewände","title":"Compound noun for dividing wall","body":"Scheidewände is the plural of Scheidewand, built from scheiden, 'to separate, divide', and Wand, 'wall'. A Scheidewand is a partition, an inner wall between rooms, or in anatomy a septum."}],"words":[{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on schweigen","gloss":"And"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on schweigen","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"schweigen","lemma":"schweigen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"are silent"},{"surface":"weil","lemma":"weil","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on sind","gloss":"because"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Scheidewände","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Scheidewände","lemma":"Scheidewand","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"subject of sind","gloss":"dividing walls"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"die-irren-s1-l2","source":"weggenommen sind aus ihrem Sinn,","translation":"have been taken away out of their mind,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"weggenommen sind","title":"Separable verb in the passive","body":"wegnehmen, 'to take away', is separable, built from weg, 'away', and nehmen, 'to take'. Here it appears as a passive, sind weggenommen, 'have been taken away', with the past participle keeping its prefix attached."}],"words":[{"surface":"weggenommen","lemma":"wegnehmen","morphology":"verb, past participle","role":"depends on sind","gloss":"taken away"},{"surface":"sind","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"have been"},{"surface":"aus","lemma":"aus","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on sind","gloss":"out of"},{"surface":"ihrem","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Sinn","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Sinn","lemma":"Sinn","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on aus","gloss":"mind"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"die-irren-s1-l3","source":"und die Stunden, da man sie verstände,","translation":"and the hours in which one might understand them","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"verstände","title":"Konjunktiv II for a hoped-for case","body":"verstände is Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of verstehen, 'to understand', marking something hypothetical rather than real. The relative da here is an old literary form of in denen, 'in which'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on heben","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Stunden","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Stunden","lemma":"Stunde","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"subject of heben","gloss":"hours"},{"surface":"da","lemma":"da","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on verstände","gloss":"in which"},{"surface":"man","lemma":"man","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on verstände","gloss":"one"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on verstände","gloss":"them"},{"surface":"verstände","lemma":"verstehen","morphology":"verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"depends on da","gloss":"might understand"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"die-irren-s1-l4","source":"heben an und gehen hin.","translation":"begin and pass away.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"heben an","title":"Separable verb anheben split apart","body":"heben an is the separable verb anheben split apart, an elevated, old-fashioned word for 'to begin, to set in'. It pairs with gehen hin, 'to go away, to pass', the two verbs framing a brief arc."}],"words":[{"surface":"heben","lemma":"heben","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"begin"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"anheben","morphology":"separable verb particle","role":"depends on heben","gloss":"up","note":"'heben...an' = separable verb 'anheben' (begin, set in)."},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on heben","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"gehen","lemma":"gehen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"depends on und","gloss":"pass away"},{"surface":"hin","lemma":"hingehen","morphology":"separable verb particle","role":"depends on gehen","gloss":"away"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"die-irren-s2-l1","source":"Nächtens oft, wenn sie ans Fenster treten:","translation":"Often at night, when they step to the window:","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Nächtens","title":"Literary adverb for at night","body":"nächtens is a poetic adverb meaning 'at night, by night', formed from Nacht, 'night'. It is rare and literary; everyday German instead says nachts."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"ans Fenster treten","title":"an plus accusative for motion toward","body":"ans contracts an das. With a verb of motion like treten, 'to step', an takes the accusative das Fenster to express movement toward, 'to step up to the window'. With a static verb it would instead take the dative, am Fenster, 'at the window'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Nächtens","lemma":"nächtens","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on treten","gloss":"At night"},{"surface":"oft","lemma":"oft","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on treten","gloss":"often"},{"surface":"wenn","lemma":"wenn","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on treten","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on treten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"ans","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on treten","gloss":"to the"},{"surface":"Fenster","lemma":"Fenster","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ans","gloss":"window"},{"surface":"treten","lemma":"treten","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"step"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"die-irren-s2-l2","source":"plötzlich ist es alles gut.","translation":"suddenly everything is well.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"plötzlich","lemma":"plötzlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"suddenly"},{"surface":"ist","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"alles","lemma":"alle","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"everything"},{"surface":"gut","lemma":"gut","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"well"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"die-irren-s2-l3","source":"Ihre Hände liegen im Konkreten,","translation":"Their hands rest in the concrete,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"im Konkreten","title":"Adjective turned into a noun","body":"konkret, 'concrete, tangible', is turned into the neuter noun das Konkrete, declined in the dative after in. im Konkreten means 'in the concrete', in the real, graspable world."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ihre","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Hände","gloss":"Their"},{"surface":"Hände","lemma":"Hand","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"subject of liegen","gloss":"hands"},{"surface":"liegen","lemma":"liegen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"rest"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on liegen","gloss":"in the"},{"surface":"Konkreten","lemma":"Konkrete","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"the concrete","note":"Nominalized adjective 'das Konkrete' (the concrete)."}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"die-irren-s2-l4","source":"und das Herz ist hoch und könnte beten,","translation":"and the heart is lifted high and could pray,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"könnte beten","title":"Konjunktiv II states a possibility","body":"könnte is Konjunktiv II of können, 'can'. It states a possibility short of fact: the heart könnte beten, 'could pray', meaning it is able to but the sentence does not say it does."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Herz","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Herz","lemma":"Herz","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of ist","gloss":"heart"},{"surface":"ist","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"hoch","lemma":"hoch","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"lifted high"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"könnte","lemma":"können","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"could"},{"surface":"beten","lemma":"beten","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on könnte","gloss":"pray"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"die-irren-s2-l5","source":"und die Augen schauen ausgeruht","translation":"and the eyes gaze, rested,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s2-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ausgeruht","title":"Past participle used as adverb","body":"ausgeruht is the past participle of sich ausruhen, 'to rest, to recover', used here as an adverb meaning 'rested, at ease'. It describes how die Augen schauen, 'the eyes gaze'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on schauen","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Augen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Augen","lemma":"Auge","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"subject of schauen","gloss":"eyes"},{"surface":"schauen","lemma":"schauen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"gaze"},{"surface":"ausgeruht","lemma":"ausruhen","morphology":"verb, past participle","role":"depends on schauen","gloss":"rested"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"die-irren-s3-l1","source":"auf den unverhofften, oftentstellten","translation":"upon the unhoped-for, often-disfigured","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"unverhofften, oftentstellten","title":"Coined and ordinary compound adjectives","body":"unverhofft means 'unhoped-for, unexpected', from verhoffen, 'to hope for'. oftentstellt is Rilke's coinage, joining oft, 'often', and entstellt, 'disfigured'. Both adjectives decline to agree with Garten in the next line."}],"words":[{"surface":"auf","lemma":"auf","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Garten","gloss":"upon"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Garten","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"unverhofften","lemma":"unverhofft","morphology":"adjective, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Garten","gloss":"unhoped-for"},{"surface":"oftentstellten","lemma":"oftentstellt","morphology":"adjective, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Garten","gloss":"often-disfigured","note":"Compound: 'oft' (often) + 'entstellt' (disfigured)."}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"die-irren-s3-l2","source":"Garten im beruhigten Geviert,","translation":"garden in its quieted square,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Geviert","title":"Literary noun for a square enclosure","body":"das Geviert is a literary word for a square or quadrangle, a four-sided enclosed space. Here it names the walled courtyard garden seen from the window. beruhigt, from beruhigen, 'to calm', means 'calmed, quieted'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Garten","lemma":"Garten","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on auf","gloss":"garden"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Garten","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"beruhigten","lemma":"beruhigt","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Geviert","gloss":"quieted"},{"surface":"Geviert","lemma":"Geviert","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"square"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"die-irren-s3-l3","source":"der im Widerschein der fremden Welten","translation":"which in the reflected glow of the alien worlds","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Widerschein","title":"Compound noun for reflected light","body":"der Widerschein means reflected light or a gleam thrown back, from wider, 'back, against', and Schein, 'shine, glow'. Here der, the relative pronoun, reaches back to Garten, opening the clause that closes the poem."}],"words":[{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of weiterwächst","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Widerschein","gloss":"in the"},{"surface":"Widerschein","lemma":"Widerschein","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"reflected glow"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Welten","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"fremden","lemma":"fremd","morphology":"adjective, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Welten","gloss":"alien"},{"surface":"Welten","lemma":"Welt","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Widerschein","gloss":"worlds"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"die-irren-s3-l4","source":"weiterwächst und niemals sich verliert.","translation":"grows on and never loses itself.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-irren-s3-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"weiterwächst","title":"Separable verb weiterwachsen","body":"weiterwächst is the separable verb weiterwachsen, 'to keep growing', held together here because it stands at the end of a relative clause. sich verlieren is reflexive, 'to lose oneself', paired with niemals, 'never'."}],"words":[{"surface":"weiterwächst","lemma":"weiterwachsen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"grows on"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on weiterwächst","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"niemals","lemma":"niemals","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on verliert","gloss":"never"},{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on verliert","gloss":"itself"},{"surface":"verliert","lemma":"verlieren","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"loses"}]}]}