# Eine Sibylle · A Sibyl

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

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

**1** Einst, vor Zeiten, nannte man sie alt.  
Once, ages ago, they called her old.
> Impersonal pronoun man: man is an impersonal subject pronoun meaning 'one, people, they', with no specific person named. nannte man sie alt means 'they called her old' or 'she was called old'. nannte is the preterite of nennen, 'to call, to name'.

**2** Doch sie blieb und kam dieselbe Straße  
Yet she stayed, and kept coming the same road
> Accusative of path, Straße: kam dieselbe Straße uses the accusative Straße, 'road', to mark the path traveled, an accusative of extent rather than a direct object. dieselbe means 'the same'. kam is the preterite of kommen, here meaning 'kept coming'.

**3** täglich. Und man änderte die Maße,  
daily. And they changed the measures,

**4** und man zählte sie wie einen Wald  
and counted her as one counts a forest
> wie plus accusative: wie einen Wald compares her to a forest, with Wald taking the same accusative case as sie, the direct object of zählte, 'counted'. wie, 'as, like', here introduces a comparison rather than a question.


**5** nach Jahrhunderten. Sie aber stand  
by centuries. But she stood
> aber in second position: aber, 'but', sits after Sie, 'she', its normal position when contrasting with what came before. Sie aber stand means 'but she stood', shifting the focus from the centuries just mentioned to her unchanging presence.

**6** jeden Abend auf derselben Stelle,  
every evening in the same place,
> Accusative of time, jeden Abend: jeden Abend, 'every evening', is an accusative of time, a phrase that takes the accusative case without any preposition to mark how often something happens. It answers the question when, modifying stand from the line before.

**7** schwarz wie eine alte Zitadelle,  
black like an old citadel,

**8** hoch und hohl und ausgebrannt;  
high and hollow and burnt-out;
> Participle ausgebrannt: ausgebrannt is the past participle of ausbrennen, 'to burn out'. Used as a predicate adjective alongside hoch and hohl, 'high' and 'hollow', it describes her as burnt out, spent from long use as an oracle.


**9** von den Worten, die sich unbewacht  
by the words that, unguarded,
> Dative plural den Worten: den Worten is the dative plural of Wort, 'word', governed by von, 'by'. die sich unbewacht introduces a relative clause describing these words, continuing into the next line, sich referring back to the words themselves.

**10** wider ihren Willen in ihr mehrten,  
against her will multiplied within her,
> Fixed phrase wider ihren Willen: wider ihren Willen means 'against her will'. wider is an older preposition taking the accusative, distinct from wieder, 'again'. The words multiplied in her wider ihren Willen, against what she wanted.

**11** immerfort umschrieen und umflogen,  
forever shrieked around and flown about,
> The prefix um-: umschrieen and umflogen are past participles of umschreien and umfliegen, both built with the prefix um-, meaning 'around'. umschreien means 'to shriek around someone', umfliegen 'to fly around someone'. Both describe things happening all around her.

**12** während die schon wieder heimgekehrten  
while those already homeward-returned
> Nominalized participle heimgekehrten: heimgekehrten is the past participle of heimkehren, 'to return home', used as a noun with the article die: 'those who returned home'. schon wieder means 'once again'. It refers to other prophetic voices already back among ordinary life.

**13** dunkel unter ihren Augenbogen  
darkly beneath the arches of her brows
> Compound noun Augenbogen: Augenbogen combines Auge, 'eye', and Bogen, 'arch, bow', meaning 'brow-arch, the arch above the eye'. It is dative plural here, unter ihren Augenbogen, 'beneath her brow-arches', after the preposition unter.

**14** saßen, fertig für die Nacht.  
sat, ready for the night.
> Preterite saßen: saßen is the preterite of sitzen, 'to sit'. fertig für die Nacht, 'ready for the night', is a predicate phrase describing the state they sat in. The subject, likely the words or visions from earlier lines, is left unstated in this fragment.

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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.