{"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-treppe-der-orangerie","title":{"source":"Die Treppe der Orangerie","translated":"The Steps of the Orangery"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie","lines":12},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/die-kurtisane","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-marmorkarren","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-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l1","source":"Wie Könige, die schließlich nur noch schreiten","translation":"Like kings who in the end do nothing but pace","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"schreiten","title":"A verb for solemn walking","body":"schreiten is a strong verb meaning 'to walk with slow, measured steps', distinct from the plain gehen, 'to go'. It is present tense, third-person plural here, agreeing with die Könige, 'the kings', as its subject."}],"words":[{"surface":"Wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Könige","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"Könige","lemma":"König","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on steigt","gloss":"kings"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on schreiten","gloss":"who"},{"surface":"schließlich","lemma":"schließlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on schreiten","gloss":"in the end"},{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on noch","gloss":"only"},{"surface":"noch","lemma":"noch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on schreiten","gloss":"but"},{"surface":"schreiten","lemma":"schreiten","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"depends on Könige","gloss":"pace"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l2","source":"fast ohne Ziel, nur um von Zeit zu Zeit","translation":"almost without aim, only now and then","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"fast","lemma":"fast","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on ohne","gloss":"almost"},{"surface":"ohne","lemma":"ohne","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on schreiten","gloss":"without"},{"surface":"Ziel","lemma":"Ziel","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ohne","gloss":"aim"},{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on um","gloss":"only"},{"surface":"um","lemma":"um","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"in order to"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"from","note":"von Zeit zu Zeit is an idiom meaning \"from time to time.\""},{"surface":"Zeit","lemma":"Zeit","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on von","gloss":"time"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Zeit","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"Zeit","lemma":"Zeit","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"time"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l3","source":"sich den Verneigenden auf beiden Seiten","translation":"to show themselves, in the cloak's solitude,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"den Verneigenden","title":"Participle used as a noun","body":"die Verneigenden, 'those bowing', is the present participle of sich verneigen, 'to bow', turned into a noun and declined like an adjective. Here it stands in the dative plural, den Verneigenden, as the indirect object of sich zeigen, 'to show oneself'."}],"words":[{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"themselves"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Verneigenden","gloss":"those"},{"surface":"Verneigenden","lemma":"Verneigende","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"who bow"},{"surface":"auf","lemma":"auf","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Verneigenden","gloss":"on"},{"surface":"beiden","lemma":"beide","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Seiten","gloss":"either"},{"surface":"Seiten","lemma":"Seite","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on auf","gloss":"sides"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l4","source":"zu zeigen in des Mantels Einsamkeit–:","translation":"to those who bow on either side—:","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"des Mantels Einsamkeit","title":"Genitive placed before its noun","body":"Modern German would put der Einsamkeit des Mantels last; here the genitive des Mantels is fronted before the noun it modifies, Einsamkeit, 'solitude'. This word order is older and more formal than ordinary prose."}],"words":[{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"zeigen","lemma":"zeigen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on um","gloss":"show"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on zeigen","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Mantels","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Mantels","lemma":"Mantel","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Einsamkeit","gloss":"cloak's"},{"surface":"Einsamkeit–","lemma":"Einsamkeit","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"solitude"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l1","source":"so steigt, allein zwischen den Balustraden,","translation":"so climbs, alone between the balustrades","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"so steigt … die Treppe","title":"so answers wie","body":"so, 'thus', answers the wie, 'like', that opened the poem, completing the comparison. The verb steigt, 'climbs', comes first, but its subject die Treppe, 'the staircase', does not appear until later in the sentence."}],"words":[{"surface":"so","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on steigt","gloss":"so"},{"surface":"steigt","lemma":"steigen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"climbs"},{"surface":"allein","lemma":"allein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on zwischen","gloss":"alone"},{"surface":"zwischen","lemma":"zwischen","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on steigt","gloss":"between"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Balustraden","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Balustraden","lemma":"Balustrade","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on zwischen","gloss":"balustrades"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l2","source":"die sich verneigen schon seit Anbeginn,","translation":"that have been bowing from the very first,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"seit Anbeginn","title":"Anbeginn, the very start","body":"Anbeginn is an elevated word for 'the very beginning', as in von Anbeginn der Welt, 'from the beginning of the world'. seit Anbeginn, 'since the very first', takes the dative after seit."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"relative pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of verneigen","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural, reflexive","role":"depends on verneigen","gloss":"themselves"},{"surface":"verneigen","lemma":"verneigen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the clause","gloss":"have been bowing"},{"surface":"schon","lemma":"schon","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on seit","gloss":"already"},{"surface":"seit","lemma":"seit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on verneigen","gloss":"since"},{"surface":"Anbeginn","lemma":"Anbeginn","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on seit","gloss":"the very first"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l3","source":"die Treppe: langsam und von Gottes Gnaden","translation":"the staircase: slowly and by grace of God","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Treppe","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Treppe","lemma":"Treppe","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"staircase"},{"surface":"langsam","lemma":"langsam","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on und","gloss":"slowly"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on und","gloss":"by"},{"surface":"Gottes","lemma":"Gott","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Gnaden","gloss":"God's"},{"surface":"Gnaden","lemma":"Gnade","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on von","gloss":"grace","note":"'von Gottes Gnaden' is a fixed idiom, 'by the grace of God' (used of rulers with divine sanction)."}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l4","source":"und auf den Himmel zu und nirgends hin;","translation":"and toward the sky and nowhere at all;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"auf den Himmel zu … nirgends hin","title":"zu and hin marking direction","body":"auf den Himmel zu means 'toward the sky', with zu placed after its noun to mark motion toward a goal. nirgends hin, 'to nowhere', uses hin, the particle for motion away from the speaker toward a destination."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"auf","lemma":"auf","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on und","gloss":"toward","note":"'auf … zu' is a circumposition meaning 'toward'; auf and zu together give one meaning."},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Himmel","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Himmel","lemma":"Himmel","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on auf","gloss":"sky"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on auf","gloss":"toward"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"nirgends","lemma":"nirgends","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on und","gloss":"nowhere"},{"surface":"hin","lemma":"hin","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nirgends","gloss":"to"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l1","source":"als ob sie allen Folgenden befahl","translation":"as if it had commanded all who follow","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"als ob sie … befahl","title":"als ob with the indicative","body":"als ob, 'as though', normally takes the subjunctive, here befähle. This line instead uses the plain past indicative befahl, 'had commanded'. allen Folgenden, 'to all those following', is dative because befehlen governs the dative."}],"words":[{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on befahl","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"ob","lemma":"ob","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on befahl","gloss":"if"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"subject of befahl","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"allen","lemma":"aller","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Folgenden","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"Folgenden","lemma":"folgend","morphology":"noun, dative, plural","role":"depends on befahl","gloss":"who follow"},{"surface":"befahl","lemma":"befehlen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"had commanded"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l2","source":"zurückzubleiben,–so daß sie nicht wagen,","translation":"to stay behind—so that they do not dare","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zurückzubleiben","title":"zu inside a separable verb","body":"zurückbleiben, 'to stay behind', is separable. In its zu-infinitive the zu is inserted between prefix and stem and written as one word: zurück-zu-bleiben, giving zurückzubleiben."}],"words":[{"surface":"zurückzubleiben,–so","lemma":"zurückbleiben","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on befahl","gloss":"to stay behind—so","note":"Tokenization glued 'zurückzubleiben,' to the following '–so'; read as two words, 'to stay behind' + 'so'."},{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on wagen","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of wagen","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on wagen","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"wagen","lemma":"wagen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the clause","gloss":"dare"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l3","source":"von ferne nachzugehen; nicht einmal","translation":"to follow even from afar; not even","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"nachgehen","title":"To follow after","body":"nachgehen is a separable verb meaning 'to go after' or 'follow behind'; here it appears as the zu-infinitive nachzugehen. von ferne, 'from a distance', is a fixed adverbial phrase."}],"words":[{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on nachzugehen","gloss":"from"},{"surface":"ferne","lemma":"ferne","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on von","gloss":"afar"},{"surface":"nachzugehen","lemma":"nachgehen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on wagen","gloss":"to follow"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on durfte","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"einmal","lemma":"einmal","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nicht","gloss":"even"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l4","source":"die schwere Schleppe durfte einer tragen.","translation":"was anyone allowed to bear its heavy train.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/die-treppe-der-orangerie-s3-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"die Schleppe","title":"The heavy train","body":"die Schleppe is the trailing train of a robe, carried by attendants. durfte … tragen means 'was permitted to carry', with dürfen as the modal of permission and tragen, 'to bear', as its infinitive."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Schleppe","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"schwere","lemma":"schwer","morphology":"adjective, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Schleppe","gloss":"heavy"},{"surface":"Schleppe","lemma":"Schleppe","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on tragen","gloss":"train"},{"surface":"durfte","lemma":"dürfen","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was allowed"},{"surface":"einer","lemma":"ein","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on durfte","gloss":"anyone"},{"surface":"tragen","lemma":"tragen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on durfte","gloss":"to bear"}]}]}