{"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":"ein-doge","title":{"source":"Ein Doge","translated":"A Doge"},"section":"New Poems: The Other Part","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/ein-doge","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/san-marco","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/die-laute","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":"ein-doge-s1-l1","source":"Fremde Gesandte sahen, wie sie geizten","translation":"Foreign envoys saw how they were stingy","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"der Gesandte","title":"Envoy, ambassador","body":"der Gesandte, 'envoy, emissary, ambassador', is a noun made from the past participle of senden, 'to send', literally 'the one sent', so it declines like an adjective: fremde Gesandte, 'foreign envoys'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"geizen","title":"To be stingy, to stint","body":"geizen, 'to be miserly, to stint, to begrudge', comes from der Geiz, 'avarice'. wie sie geizten mit ihm means 'how they stinted with him'. wie here is the conjunction 'how', not the question word."}],"words":[{"surface":"Fremde","lemma":"fremd","morphology":"adjective, nominative, plural","role":"depends on Gesandte","gloss":"foreign"},{"surface":"Gesandte","lemma":"Gesandte","morphology":"noun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on sahen","gloss":"envoys"},{"surface":"sahen","lemma":"sehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"saw"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on geizten","gloss":"how"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on geizten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"geizten","lemma":"geizen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"depends on sahen","gloss":"were stingy"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"ein-doge-s1-l2","source":"mit ihm und allem, was er tat;","translation":"with him and with all that he did;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"mit ihm und allem","title":"Preposition mit governs dative","body":"geizen mit etwas means 'to be sparing with something', and mit always governs the dative: mit ihm, 'with him', mit allem, dative of alles, 'with everything'."}],"words":[{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on geizten","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"ihm","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ihm","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"allem","lemma":"alle","morphology":"pronoun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on und","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"was","lemma":"was","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on tat","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on tat","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"tat","lemma":"tun","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on was","gloss":"did"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"ein-doge-s1-l3","source":"während sie ihn zu seiner Größe reizten,","translation":"while they were goading him toward his greatness,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"während sie ihn … reizten","title":"While clause sends verb last","body":"während, 'while, whereas', is a subordinating conjunction, so its finite verb reizten, 'goaded, provoked', is pushed to the clause's end: während sie ihn zu seiner Größe reizten, 'while they goaded him toward his greatness'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"reizen zu","title":"To goad toward something","body":"reizen means 'to provoke, incite, stimulate'; with zu plus dative it means 'to spur, goad someone toward' something: zu seiner Größe, 'toward his greatness' (dative seiner Größe)."}],"words":[{"surface":"während","lemma":"während","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on reizten","gloss":"while"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on reizten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"ihn","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on reizten","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on reizten","gloss":"toward"},{"surface":"seiner","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Größe","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Größe","lemma":"Größe","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"greatness"},{"surface":"reizten","lemma":"reizen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"goaded"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"ein-doge-s1-l4","source":"umstellten sie das goldene Dogat","translation":"they hemmed the golden Dogeship around","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"umstellten sie","title":"Verb-second after a clause","body":"After the subordinate während-clause, the main clause inverts: the verb umstellten comes first and the subject sie follows. umstellen, stressed on -stéllen, is inseparable and means 'to surround, encircle, hem in'."}],"words":[{"surface":"umstellten","lemma":"umstellen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"hemmed around"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on umstellten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Dogat","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"goldene","lemma":"golden","morphology":"adjective, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Dogat","gloss":"golden"},{"surface":"Dogat","lemma":"Dogat","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on umstellten","gloss":"Dogeship"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"ein-doge-s2-l1","source":"mit Spähern und Beschränkern immer mehr,","translation":"with spies and restrainers, more and more,","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Späher und Beschränker","title":"Watchers and restrainers","body":"der Späher, 'scout, watcher, spy', from spähen, 'to peer, scout', and der Beschränker, 'one who limits, curtails', from beschränken, are both dative plural after mit. immer mehr means 'more and more'."}],"words":[{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on umstellten","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"Spähern","lemma":"Späher","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"spies"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Spähern","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"Beschränkern","lemma":"Beschränker","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on und","gloss":"restrainers"},{"surface":"immer","lemma":"immer","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on mehr","gloss":"ever"},{"surface":"mehr","lemma":"mehr","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on immer","gloss":"more"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"ein-doge-s2-l2","source":"bange, daß nicht die Macht sie überfällt,","translation":"afraid that the power might fall upon them,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"bange, daß … nicht","title":"Anxious, and the fear clause","body":"bange means 'anxious, afraid'; after a verb of fearing, German often adds an expletive nicht that carries no negation into English: bange, daß nicht die Macht sie überfällt, 'afraid that the power might fall upon them'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"überfallen","title":"To attack, to fall upon","body":"überfallen, 'to assault, ambush, fall upon suddenly', is inseparable. die Macht, 'the power', is the subject, sie, 'them', the accusative object of überfällt, the clause's final verb."}],"words":[{"surface":"bange","lemma":"bang","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on umstellten","gloss":"anxious"},{"surface":"daß","lemma":"daß","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on überfällt","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on überfällt","gloss":"lest","note":"Archaic expletive negation in a fear-clause ('bange, daß nicht' = 'afraid that... might'); does not carry literal negative meaning."},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Macht","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Macht","lemma":"Macht","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on überfällt","gloss":"power"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on überfällt","gloss":"them"},{"surface":"überfällt","lemma":"überfallen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on daß","gloss":"falls upon"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"ein-doge-s2-l3","source":"die sie in ihm (so wie man Löwen hält)","translation":"which they kept in him (the way one keeps lions)","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"die sie in ihm … nährten","title":"Relative pronoun reaches back","body":"die opens a relative clause reaching back to die Macht, 'the power'; its verb nährten, 'nourished', waits at the start of the next line. so wie man Löwen hält uses impersonal man, 'one'."}],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on nährten","gloss":"which","note":"Relative pronoun referring back to Macht (the power)."},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on nährten","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on nährten","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"ihm","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"him"},{"surface":"so","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on hält","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on hält","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"man","lemma":"man","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on hält","gloss":"one"},{"surface":"Löwen","lemma":"Löwe","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on hält","gloss":"lions"},{"surface":"hält","lemma":"halten","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the parenthetical clause","gloss":"keeps"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"ein-doge-s2-l4","source":"vorsichtig nährten. Aber er,","translation":"warily nourished. But he,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"nähren","title":"To nourish, to feed","body":"nähren, 'to feed, nourish, sustain', is the relative clause's verb, landing at its end: die sie in ihm … vorsichtig nährten, 'which they warily nourished in him'. Aber er, 'But he', starts a new clause."}],"words":[{"surface":"vorsichtig","lemma":"vorsichtig","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nährten","gloss":"warily"},{"surface":"nährten","lemma":"nähren","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"nourished"},{"surface":"Aber","lemma":"aber","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on er","gloss":"but"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"he"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"ein-doge-s3-l1","source":"im Schutze seiner halbverhängten Sinne,","translation":"in the shelter of his half-curtained senses,","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"im Schutze seiner … Sinne","title":"Im Schutze governs the genitive","body":"im Schutze, 'under the protection of', governs the genitive: seiner halbverhängten Sinne, 'of his half-veiled senses' (genitive plural). The -e on Schutze is an old dative ending kept for the rhythm."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"halbverhängt","title":"Half-veiled, half-curtained","body":"halbverhängt is halb, 'half', plus the past participle of verhängen, 'to cover, drape, hang with cloth': 'half-curtained, half-draped'. die Sinne are 'the senses', genitive plural after Schutze."}],"words":[{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition (contraction of in + dem)","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"in the"},{"surface":"Schutze","lemma":"Schutz","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"shelter"},{"surface":"seiner","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, genitive, plural","role":"depends on Sinne","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"halbverhängten","lemma":"halbverhängt","morphology":"adjective, genitive, plural","role":"depends on Sinne","gloss":"half-curtained"},{"surface":"Sinne","lemma":"Sinn","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Schutze","gloss":"senses"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"ein-doge-s3-l2","source":"ward dessen nicht gewahr und hielt nicht inne,","translation":"grew not aware of it and did not pause,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ward … gewahr","title":"Becoming aware, an old idiom","body":"ward is the old, poetic simple past of werden, 'to become', today wurde. gewahr werden means 'to become aware of', and it takes a genitive object: dessen nicht gewahr, 'not aware of it'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"innehalten","title":"To pause, to leave off","body":"innehalten, 'to pause, stop short, leave off', is separable: hielt … inne, 'paused, halted'. hielt nicht inne, größer zu werden means 'did not stop growing greater'."}],"words":[{"surface":"ward","lemma":"werden","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"grew","note":"ward is an archaic/poetic past tense of werden ('to become'), used instead of the modern wurde."},{"surface":"dessen","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, genitive, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ward","gloss":"of it"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on ward","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"gewahr","lemma":"gewahr","morphology":"predicate adjective","role":"depends on ward","gloss":"aware","note":"'gewahr werden' is a fixed idiom meaning 'to become aware (of something)', governing a genitive object (dessen)."},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ward","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"hielt","lemma":"innehalten","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular (separable verb, split from inne)","role":"coordinate main verb, joined by und","gloss":"paused","note":"Separable verb 'innehalten' (to pause) splits into hielt … inne."},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on hielt","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"inne","lemma":"inne","morphology":"separable verb particle (of innehalten)","role":"depends on hielt","gloss":"pause"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"ein-doge-s3-l3","source":"größer zu werden. Was die Signorie","translation":"to grow greater. What the Signoria","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"größer zu werden","title":"A zu-infinitive completes a verb","body":"größer zu werden, 'to grow greater', is a zu-infinitive completing hielt nicht inne from the line before. größer is the comparative of groß, 'big, great'."}],"words":[{"surface":"größer","lemma":"groß","morphology":"adjective, comparative, used predicatively","role":"depends on werden","gloss":"greater"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on werden","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"werden","lemma":"werden","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"infinitive complement of hielt … inne","gloss":"grow"},{"surface":"Was","lemma":"was","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"what"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Signorie","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Signorie","lemma":"Signorie","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"Signoria"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"ein-doge-s4-l1","source":"in seinem Innern zu bezwingen glaubte,","translation":"believed it could subdue within him,","stanza":4,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s4-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zu bezwingen glaubte","title":"Glauben zu plus infinitive","body":"glauben with a zu-infinitive means 'to believe, think one is doing or can do something': zu bezwingen glaubte, 'believed it could subdue, master'. in seinem Innern means 'within him'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"bezwingen","title":"To subdue, to conquer","body":"bezwingen, 'to subdue, vanquish, master, conquer', repeats three times across these lines in different forms: bezwingen, bezwang, bezwungen. Here it is the infinitive the Signoria hoped to perform."}],"words":[{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on bezwingen","gloss":"within"},{"surface":"seinem","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Innern","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Innern","lemma":"Innere","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"inner self"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on bezwingen","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"bezwingen","lemma":"bezwingen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on glaubte","gloss":"subdue"},{"surface":"glaubte","lemma":"glauben","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"believed"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"ein-doge-s4-l2","source":"bezwang er selbst. In seinem greisen Haupte","translation":"he himself subdued. In his aged head","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s4-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"bezwang er selbst","title":"The sentence resolves, verb first","body":"The long Was-sentence resolves here: Was die Signorie … zu bezwingen glaubte, bezwang er selbst, 'What the Signoria believed it could subdue, he himself subdued.' bezwang leads its clause, with er selbst, 'he himself'."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"greises Haupt","title":"Hoary, aged head","body":"greis means 'aged, hoary, white with age'; das Haupt is the elevated, literary word for 'head', above everyday der Kopf. in seinem greisen Haupte keeps the old dative -e for the rhythm."}],"words":[{"surface":"bezwang","lemma":"bezwingen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"subdued"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on bezwang","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"selbst","lemma":"selbst","morphology":"adverb (intensifier)","role":"depends on er","gloss":"himself"},{"surface":"In","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"seinem","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haupte","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"greisen","lemma":"greis","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haupte","gloss":"aged"},{"surface":"Haupte","lemma":"Haupt","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on In","gloss":"head"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"ein-doge-s4-l3","source":"war es besiegt. Sein Antlitz zeigte wie.","translation":"it was vanquished. His face showed how.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/ein-doge-s4-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"besiegen","title":"To defeat, a passive with war","body":"besiegen means 'to defeat, vanquish'; war es besiegt is a passive built from war, 'was', plus the past participle besiegt, 'it was vanquished'. This is the third of the poem's conquest verbs."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Sein Antlitz zeigte wie.","title":"Countenance, and how it showed","body":"das Antlitz is the elevated, poetic word for 'face, countenance'. Sein Antlitz zeigte wie means 'His face showed how', with wie used to mean 'how', the manner."}],"words":[{"surface":"war","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"was"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on war","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"besiegt","lemma":"besiegen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on war","gloss":"vanquished"},{"surface":"Sein","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Antlitz","gloss":"his"},{"surface":"Antlitz","lemma":"Antlitz","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on zeigte","gloss":"face"},{"surface":"zeigte","lemma":"zeigen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"showed"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb, interrogative","role":"depends on zeigte","gloss":"how"}]}]}