# Die Kathedrale · The Cathedral

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** In jenen kleinen Städten, wo herum  
In those small towns, where round about
> The distal demonstrative jener: Jener, jene, jenes means 'that one over there', the far counterpart to dieser, 'this'. Here jenen is dative plural after in, agreeing with Städten: 'in those small towns'.
> Around, round about: Herum means 'around, round about'. Placed at the end of the line, it leaves the sentence open across the line break, so the reader continues into the next line to find what is being encircled.

**2** die alten Häuser wie ein Jahrmarkt hocken,  
the old houses crouch like a fairground,
> An annual fair: Jahrmarkt is literally a 'year market', an annual fair with stalls, criers, and drums. The word names the kind of gathering the houses are compared to.

**3** der sie bemerkt hat plötzlich und erschrocken  
that, having all at once and startled noticed it,
> Present perfect, verb held back: Der sie bemerkt hat is the present perfect, 'that has noticed it', with der as subject and sie as object. German pushes the finite verb hat to the end of the clause, after the participle bemerkt.

**4** die Buden zumacht und ganz zu und stumm,  
shuts up its booths and, wholly shut and mute,
> A separable verb, held together: Zumachen, 'to close, shut', is a separable verb. In a main clause its prefix zu splits off and lands at the end, macht … zu, but inside this relative clause the whole verb, zumacht, stays together at the end, after its object die Buden.


**5** die Schreier still, die Trommeln angehalten,  
the criers hushed, the drums brought to a halt,
> A verbless absolute phrase: Die Trommeln angehalten is a verbless, absolute construction, 'the drums having been stopped', paired with die Schreier still, 'the criers silent'. German can string together such clipped phrases without a finite verb.

**6** zu ihr hinaufhorcht aufgeregten Ohrs–:  
listens up toward her with an agitated ear—:
> A coined verb, to listen upward: This is a coinage from horchen, 'to listen intently, to hark', and hinauf, 'upward'. Zu ihr, 'to her', refers to die Kathedrale, feminine. Aufgeregten Ohrs is an archaic genitive of manner, 'with an agitated ear'.

**7** dieweil sie ruhig immer in dem alten  
while she, ever calm, in the old
> An archaic word for while: Dieweil is an archaic, literary conjunction meaning 'while, whilst', the older form of modern während. It subordinates its clause, so the verb, dasteht, is held back to the end, two lines later.

**8** Faltenmantel ihrer Contreforts  
pleated mantle of her buttresses
> A compound, pleated mantle: Faltenmantel is a compound of Falten, 'folds, pleats', and Mantel, 'mantle, cloak': a cloak hanging in heavy folds. Contreforts is the French architectural term for buttresses. Ihrer is the genitive, 'of her buttresses'.

**9** dasteht und von den Häusern gar nicht weiß:  
stands there and knows nothing at all of the houses:
> Wissen von plus dative: Von etwas wissen means 'to know of, to be aware of something' and takes the dative, von den Häusern. With gar nicht, 'not at all', it means 'knows nothing whatever of the houses'. Weiß finally closes the long clause opened two lines back.


**10** in jenen kleinen Städten kannst du sehn,  
in those small towns you can see

**11** wie sehr entwachsen ihrem Umgangskreis  
how far outgrown beyond their social circle
> To outgrow, plus dative: Entwachsen means 'to outgrow, to grow out of or beyond' and governs the dative: entwachsen ihrem Umgangskreis, 'outgrown their circle of acquaintance'. Umgangskreis names the set of people one regularly mingles with.

**12** die Kathedralen waren. Ihr Erstehn  
the cathedrals were. Their arising
> A nominalized verb: Erstehn, short for Erstehen, is the verb erstehen, 'to arise, to come into being', used here as a neuter noun: 'their arising'. German freely turns infinitives into nouns this way.

**13** ging über alles fort, so wie den Blick  
went on past everything, just as the gaze

**14** des eignen Lebens viel zu große Nähe  
of one's own life is, by too great a nearness,
> Genitive placed before its noun: Des eignen Lebens, 'of one's own life', is a genitive depending on Nähe, 'nearness'. Eignen is the poetic short form of eigenen. The two words together, across lines, mean 'the nearness of one's own life'.

**15** fortwährend übersteigt und als geschähe  
forever surpasses, and as though there happened
> To exceed, to surpass: Übersteigen means 'to exceed, to surpass, to climb over'. Here Nähe, 'nearness', übersteigt … den Blick, overtops the gaze. Fortwährend means 'continually, forever'.
> Subjunctive of comparison: Als, 'as though', plus the Konjunktiv II geschähe, from geschehen, 'to happen', makes an unreal comparison: 'as though nothing else were happening'. With als the verb comes directly after it, inverting the usual word order.

**16** nichts anderes; als wäre das Geschick,  
nothing else; as though the destiny,
> Fate, destiny: Das Geschick means 'fate, destiny', a more elevated word than the everyday Schicksal. It names what the following lines describe as piling up and turning to stone.

**17** was sich in ihnen aufhäuft ohne Maßen,  
that heaps itself up within them beyond measure,
> A reflexive separable verb: Sich aufhäufen, 'to pile up, to accumulate', is both reflexive and separable, but inside this relative clause it stays joined: was sich in ihnen aufhäuft, 'what piles itself up within them'. Ohne Maßen is an old plural form of ohne Maß, 'without measure'.

**18** versteinert und zum Dauernden bestimmt,  
turned to stone and ordained to what endures,
> Bestimmt zu, destined for: Bestimmt zu means 'destined for, ordained for'. Das Dauernde is the adjective dauernd, 'lasting, enduring', turned into a noun, 'that which endures'; zum is a contraction of zu dem.

**19** nicht das, was unten in den dunkeln Straßen  
not that which, down in the dark streets,

**20** vom Zufall irgendwelche Namen nimmt  
takes from chance some names or other
> Taking something from chance: Der Zufall means 'chance, accident'; vom Zufall … nimmt means 'takes from chance'. Irgendwelche Namen means 'some names or other, any names at all'.

**21** und darin geht, wie Kinder Grün und Rot  
and goes about in them, the way children wear

**22** und was der Krämer hat als Schürze tragen.  
green and red, and what the shopkeeper has, as an apron.
> Shopkeeper and apron: Krämer is a small shopkeeper or grocer; Schürze is an apron. Both are plain, everyday nouns naming ordinary trade and clothing.

**23** Da war Geburt in diesen Unterlagen,  
There was birth in these foundations,
> Foundations, underpinnings: Unterlagen here means 'underpinnings, foundations, the base courses' something rests on; the everyday word also means 'documents'. Geburt means 'birth'.

**24** und Kraft und Andrang war in diesem Ragen  
and force and surging thrust were in this towering,
> Surge, and a nominalized verb: Andrang means 'a thronging, a surge, a press forward'. Das Ragen is the nominalized verb ragen, 'to tower, to jut up'. War, singular, governs the two paired subjects Kraft und Andrang, common in German when the verb precedes its subjects.

**25** und Liebe überall wie Wein und Brot,  
and love everywhere like wine and bread,

**26** und die Portale voller Liebesklagcn.  
and the portals full of love-laments.
> A compound, love laments: Liebesklagen is a compound of Liebe, 'love', and Klagen, 'laments, plaints': 'love laments'. Portale are the great carved entrance portals of a cathedral. The source spells the word Liebesklagcn, a known typo kept verbatim.

**27** Das Leben zögerte Im Stundenschlagen,  
Life hesitated in the striking of the hours,
> The striking of the hours: Das Stundenschlagen means 'the striking of the hours', the chiming that marks each hour. Zögern means 'to hesitate, to falter'. The source capitalizes Im mid line, kept verbatim.

**28** und in den Türmen, welche voll Entsagen  
and in the towers, which full of renunciation
> Renunciation, giving up: Das Entsagen, from entsagen, 'to renounce, to give up', means 'renunciation'. Welche is a more formal relative pronoun, 'which', referring here to den Türmen, 'the towers'.

**29** auf einmal nicht mehr stiegen, war der Tod.  
all at once climbed no higher, was death.
> Subject after the verb: Auf einmal means 'all at once, suddenly'; nicht mehr means 'no longer, no more'. The towers stiegen … nicht mehr, 'climbed no higher'. The clause then closes with subject after verb: war der Tod, 'was death'.

---

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.