{"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":"don-juans-auswahl","title":{"source":"Don Juans Auswahl","translated":"Don Juan's Election"},"section":"New Poems: The Other Part","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/don-juans-auswahl","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/don-juans-kindheit","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/sankt-georg","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":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l1","source":"Und der Engel trat ihn an: Bereite","translation":"And the angel came at him: Prepare","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"trat ihn an","title":"A separable verb for confronting","body":"antreten here means 'to approach, confront, step up to' someone, taking an accusative object. The prefix an- is separable, so the past splits: trat ... an frames ihn between stem and prefix, as the angel advances on Don Juan."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"Bereite","title":"An imperative split by enjambment","body":"Bereite is the du-imperative of bereiten, 'to prepare, make ready'; its object, dich, opens the next line, so bereite dich, 'prepare yourself', straddles the line break. The colon turns the rest into the angel's unquoted speech."}],"words":[{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on trat","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Engel","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Engel","lemma":"Engel","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of trat","gloss":"angel"},{"surface":"trat","lemma":"antreten","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"came at"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"ihn","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on trat","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"verb particle (separable prefix of antreten)","role":"depends on trat","gloss":"at"},{"surface":"Bereite","lemma":"bereiten","morphology":"verb, imperative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the quoted imperative clause","gloss":"prepare"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l2","source":"dich mir ganz. Und da ist mein Gebot.","translation":"yourself for me wholly. And here is my command.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Bereite dich mir ganz","title":"A reflexive verb with a dative","body":"bereite dich is reflexive, 'ready yourself', with mir a dative of interest: 'make yourself wholly ready for me'. ganz, 'wholly', is adverbial. da here means 'here', not 'there', presenting the command as something offered outright."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Gebot","title":"An elevated word for command","body":"das Gebot means 'commandment, decree, charge', the word used for the Ten Commandments, die Zehn Gebote. Choosing it casts the angel's instruction in a scriptural key, a charge rather than a request."}],"words":[{"surface":"dich","lemma":"dich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, reflexive","role":"depends on Bereite (previous line)","gloss":"yourself"},{"surface":"mir","lemma":"mir","morphology":"pronoun, dative, singular","role":"depends on Bereite (previous line)","gloss":"for me"},{"surface":"ganz","lemma":"ganz","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Bereite (previous line)","gloss":"wholly"},{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"da","lemma":"da","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"here"},{"surface":"ist","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"mein","lemma":"mein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Gebot","gloss":"my"},{"surface":"Gebot","lemma":"Gebot","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"command"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l3","source":"Denn daß einer jene überschreite,","translation":"For that one man should pass beyond those women,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"daß einer jene überschreite","title":"daß plus Subjunctive I","body":"überschreite is Konjunktiv I, present subjunctive, of überschreiten, 'to cross, exceed, transgress'. After Denn daß, it states what the angel wills: 'that someone should overstep'. einer means 'one, a man'; jene, 'those', points ahead to the women named in the next lines."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"überschreite","title":"To cross a limit","body":"überschreiten literally means 'to step across, cross over', and figuratively 'to exceed, transgress a limit'. With jene as its object it means to pass beyond those women. The inseparable über- stays fixed to the verb, unlike the separable über- in übergehen."}],"words":[{"surface":"Denn","lemma":"denn","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on überschreite","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on überschreite","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"einer","lemma":"ein","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of überschreite","gloss":"one man"},{"surface":"jene","lemma":"jener","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on überschreite","gloss":"those women"},{"surface":"überschreite","lemma":"überschreiten","morphology":"verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the daß-clause","gloss":"should pass beyond"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l4","source":"die die Süßesten an ihrer Seite","translation":"who turn the sweetest men at their side","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"die die Süßesten","title":"Two identical words in a row","body":"The first die is a relative pronoun, feminine plural, referring back to jene, 'those women, who'. The second die is the article on the accusative object die Süßesten. So die die Süßesten ... bitter machen means 'who make the sweetest men bitter'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"die Süßesten","title":"A superlative used as a noun","body":"die Süßesten is the substantivized superlative of süß, 'sweet': 'the sweetest ones'. As a noun it takes the article and the plural ending -en. It names the gentlest men, the very ones these women embitter."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"subject of machen (s1-l5)","gloss":"who"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Süßesten","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Süßesten","lemma":"süß","morphology":"noun (substantivized adjective), accusative, masculine, plural","role":"object of machen (s1-l5)","gloss":"sweetest men"},{"surface":"an","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Süßesten","gloss":"at"},{"surface":"ihrer","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Seite","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Seite","lemma":"Seite","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on an","gloss":"side"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l5","source":"bitter machen, tut mir not.","translation":"bitter — this I have need of.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"tut mir not","title":"An idiom for being necessary","body":"not tun is a fixed idiom: das tut mir not means 'I need that, that is needful to me'. not is an old predicate noun for 'need', and the dative mir names who lacks it. The daß-clause before it is the grammatical subject of this idiom."}],"words":[{"surface":"bitter","lemma":"bitter","morphology":"adjective, uninflected (predicate complement of machen)","role":"depends on machen","gloss":"bitter"},{"surface":"machen","lemma":"machen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the relative clause (subject: die, s1-l4)","gloss":"make"},{"surface":"tut","lemma":"tun","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence (idiom \"tut ... not\")","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"mir","lemma":"mir","morphology":"pronoun, dative, singular","role":"depends on tut","gloss":"to me"},{"surface":"not","lemma":"Not","morphology":"adverb (fixed idiom with tun)","role":"depends on tut","gloss":"necessary","note":"\"tut ... not\" is an old idiom (from \"Not tun\") meaning 'is necessary, is needed.'"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l6","source":"Zwar auch du kannst wenig besser lieben,","translation":"True, even you can love only a little better,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Zwar","title":"A concession answered later","body":"zwar concedes a point that a later clause will qualify: 'it is true that ..., but ...'. It pairs with doch or aber, which arrives in line eight. The fronted Zwar auch du pushes the verb kannst into second position."}],"words":[{"surface":"Zwar","lemma":"zwar","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kannst","gloss":"true"},{"surface":"auch","lemma":"auch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kannst","gloss":"even"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on kannst","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"kannst","lemma":"können","morphology":"modal verb, present, indicative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"can"},{"surface":"wenig","lemma":"wenig","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on besser","gloss":"a little"},{"surface":"besser","lemma":"gut","morphology":"adverb, comparative","role":"depends on lieben","gloss":"better"},{"surface":"lieben","lemma":"lieben","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"infinitive complement of kannst","gloss":"love"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l7","source":"(unterbrich mich nicht: du irrst),","translation":"(do not interrupt me: you are mistaken),","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"unterbrich mich nicht","title":"A strong verb's imperative","body":"unterbrich is the du-imperative of unterbrechen, 'to interrupt', with the strong-verb vowel change from e to i, du unterbrichst. The inseparable unter- stays fixed. du irrst, from irren, means 'you are in error'."}],"words":[{"surface":"unterbrich","lemma":"unterbrechen","morphology":"verb, imperative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the imperative clause","gloss":"interrupt"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on unterbrich","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on unterbrich","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on irrst","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"irrst","lemma":"irren","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the second clause","gloss":"are mistaken"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l8","source":"doch du glühest, und es steht geschrieben,","translation":"yet you glow, and it stands written,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l8.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"glühest","title":"An archaic second-person ending","body":"glühest is the du-form of glühen, 'to glow, burn, be incandescent', carrying the older poetic ending -est where modern German has du glühst. It answers the concession in zwar: he cannot love better, but he burns."},{"kind":"grammar","term":"es steht geschrieben","title":"A scriptural formula","body":"es steht geschrieben means 'it stands written', the German rendering of the biblical 'it is written'. stehen with a past participle expresses an enduring written state rather than an action. es is a placeholder subject; what is written follows in the next line's daß-clause."}],"words":[{"surface":"doch","lemma":"doch","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on glühest","gloss":"yet"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on glühest","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"glühest","lemma":"glühen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, second-person, singular (archaic -est ending)","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"glow"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on steht","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on steht","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"steht","lemma":"stehen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the second clause","gloss":"stands"},{"surface":"geschrieben","lemma":"schreiben","morphology":"verb, past participle","role":"depends on steht","gloss":"written","note":"\"es steht geschrieben\" is an idiom meaning 'it is written' (as in scripture or fate)."}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l9","source":"daß du viele führen wirst","translation":"that you will lead many women","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l9.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"viele führen wirst","title":"Future tense, verb held to the end","body":"wirst ... führen is the future tense, werden plus infinitive; in this daß-clause the finite wirst is pushed to the very end, after the infinitive führen, 'to lead'. viele, 'many women', is the accusative object."}],"words":[{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on wirst","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on wirst","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"viele","lemma":"viel","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on führen","gloss":"many"},{"surface":"führen","lemma":"führen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"infinitive complement of wirst","gloss":"lead"},{"surface":"wirst","lemma":"werden","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence (future auxiliary)","gloss":"will"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l10","source":"zu der Einsamkeit, die diesen","translation":"into the solitude that has this","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l10.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Einsamkeit","title":"Solitude as destination","body":"die Einsamkeit means 'solitude, aloneness', from einsam, 'lonely, solitary'. Don Juan's seductions lead women zu der Einsamkeit, 'toward a solitude'. The relative pronoun die, feminine, begins a clause completed in the next line."}],"words":[{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on führen (previous line)","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Einsamkeit","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Einsamkeit","lemma":"Einsamkeit","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"solitude"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"subject of hat (next line)","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"diesen","lemma":"dieser","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Eingang (next line)","gloss":"this"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l11","source":"tiefen Eingang hat. Laß ein","translation":"deep entrance. Let in","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l11.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Laß ein","title":"An imperative separable verb","body":"einlassen, 'to admit, let in', is separable; the imperative laß, an older spelling of lass, sends the prefix ein to the end. Its object follows in the next line, so laß ... ein means 'let in' those the angel names."}],"words":[{"surface":"tiefen","lemma":"tief","morphology":"adjective, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Eingang","gloss":"deep"},{"surface":"Eingang","lemma":"Eingang","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on hat","gloss":"entrance"},{"surface":"hat","lemma":"haben","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause","gloss":"has"},{"surface":"Laß","lemma":"lassen","morphology":"verb, imperative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"let"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"verb particle (separable prefix of einlassen)","role":"depends on Laß","gloss":"in"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l12","source":"die, die ich dir zugewiesen,","translation":"those whom I have assigned to you,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l12.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"die ich dir zugewiesen","title":"A dative recipient, dropped auxiliary","body":"zuweisen, 'to assign, allot to', takes a dative recipient, here dir, 'to you'. zugewiesen is its past participle, with the auxiliary habe left out in verse: 'those whom I have allotted to you'. The line stacks two instances of die: object, then relative pronoun."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"object of Laß ... ein (previous line)","gloss":"those"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on zugewiesen","gloss":"whom"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on zugewiesen","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"dir","lemma":"dir","morphology":"pronoun, dative, singular","role":"depends on zugewiesen","gloss":"to you"},{"surface":"zugewiesen","lemma":"zuweisen","morphology":"verb, past participle (perfect tense, auxiliary \"habe\" omitted)","role":"main verb (participle) of the relative clause","gloss":"assigned"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l13","source":"daß sie wachsend Heloïsen","translation":"so that, growing, they may outlast Héloïses","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l13.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"daß sie wachsend","title":"daß meaning so that","body":"Here daß means 'so that', introducing a purpose rather than a fact. wachsend is the present participle of wachsen, 'to grow', used adverbially. The verbs these women will perform wait until the end of the next line, split by the stanza break."}],"words":[{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on überstehn (next line)","gloss":"so that"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of überstehn (next line)","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"wachsend","lemma":"wachsen","morphology":"verb, present participle","role":"depends on überstehn; describes sie","gloss":"growing"},{"surface":"Heloïsen","lemma":"Heloïse","morphology":"proper noun, accusative, feminine, plural","role":"object of überstehn (next line)","gloss":"Héloïses","note":"Héloïse (d'Argenteuil), famed for her love letters to Abelard, is invoked here as an archetype of a great woman lover."}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"don-juans-auswahl-s1-l14","source":"überstehn und Überschrein.","translation":"and outcry them.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/don-juans-auswahl-s1-l14.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"überstehn","title":"To outlast or surmount","body":"überstehn, a poetic form of überstehen, means 'to survive, endure, get through, surpass'. With Heloïsen as its object it reads 'to outlast the Héloïses'. The inseparable über- stays fixed, and the final -en is clipped to -n for the meter."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Überschrein","title":"A coinage on schreien","body":"überschreien normally means 'to shout louder than, drown out', built on schreien, 'to cry out, scream'. Capitalized and clipped to Überschrein for the meter, it is the second verb coordinated with überstehn in the daß-clause."}],"words":[{"surface":"überstehn","lemma":"überstehen","morphology":"verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the daß-clause (subject: sie, previous line)","gloss":"may outlast"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on überstehn","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"Überschrein","lemma":"überschreien","morphology":"verb, present, subjunctive, third-person, plural","role":"coordinated with überstehn (second verb)","gloss":"outcry"}]}]}