{"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":"eranna-an-sappho","title":{"source":"Eranna an Sappho","translated":"Eranna to Sappho"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/eranna-an-sappho","lines":11},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/liebeslied","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/sappho-an-eranna","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":"eranna-an-sappho-s1-l1","source":"O du wilde weite Werferin:","translation":"O you wild far-flinging woman:","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Werferin","title":"A feminine noun for thrower","body":"der Werfer means 'one who throws', built from werfen, 'to throw'. Adding -in makes it feminine, die Werferin, 'a woman who throws'. weit, 'far, wide', is added here to describe her as someone who throws things a great distance."}],"words":[{"surface":"O","lemma":"o","morphology":"interjection","role":"depends on du","gloss":"O"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on Werferin (in apposition)","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"wilde","lemma":"wild","morphology":"adjective, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Werferin","gloss":"wild"},{"surface":"weite","lemma":"weit","morphology":"adjective, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Werferin","gloss":"far"},{"surface":"Werferin","lemma":"Werferin","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"in apposition to du","gloss":"flinging woman"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s1-l2","source":"Wie ein Speer bei andern Dingen","translation":"Like a spear among other things","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"bei andern Dingen","title":"bei always takes the dative","body":"bei always takes the dative case. andern Dingen is the dative plural of andere Dinge, 'other things', marked by the ending -n. Here bei means 'among, alongside', so the phrase reads 'among other things'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on Speer","gloss":"Like"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Speer","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Speer","lemma":"Speer","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on lag (s1-l3)","gloss":"spear"},{"surface":"bei","lemma":"bei","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Speer","gloss":"among"},{"surface":"andern","lemma":"anderer","morphology":"adjective, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Dingen","gloss":"other"},{"surface":"Dingen","lemma":"Ding","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on bei","gloss":"things"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s1-l3","source":"lag ich bei den Meinen. Dein Erklingen","translation":"I lay among my own. Your ringing out","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"die Meinen","title":"A possessive standing for family","body":"die Meinen means 'my own people, my kin', a possessive used as a noun for one's family or household. After bei it takes the dative form, den Meinen. lag, from liegen, 'to lie', is the simple past."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Erklingen","title":"An infinitive turned into a noun","body":"erklingen means 'to ring out, to start sounding'; the prefix er- marks the start of the action. Capitalized as das Erklingen, the infinitive becomes a noun, 'the ringing out'. Dein Erklingen means 'your sounding'."}],"words":[{"surface":"lag","lemma":"liegen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"lay"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on lag","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"bei","lemma":"bei","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on lag","gloss":"among"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Meinen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Meinen","lemma":"mein","morphology":"noun, dative, plural","role":"depends on bei","gloss":"own"},{"surface":"Dein","lemma":"dein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Erklingen","gloss":"Your"},{"surface":"Erklingen","lemma":"Erklingen","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"ringing out"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s1-l4","source":"warf mich weit. Ich weiß nicht, wo ich bin.","translation":"flung me far. I do not know where I am.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"warf","title":"A strong verb in the past","body":"warf is the simple past of the strong verb werfen, 'to throw'. Its stem vowel changes from e to a instead of adding an ending. The subordinate clause wo ich bin sends its verb, bin, to the end, as such clauses do."}],"words":[{"surface":"warf","lemma":"werfen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"flung"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on warf","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"weit","lemma":"weit","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on warf","gloss":"far"},{"surface":"Ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"weiß","lemma":"wissen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"know"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"wo","lemma":"wo","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on bin","gloss":"where"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on bin","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"bin","lemma":"sein","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the clause 'wo ich bin', which depends on weiß","gloss":"am"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s1-l5","source":"Mich kann keiner wiederbringen.","translation":"No one can bring me back.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s1-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"wiederbringen","title":"A separable verb kept whole","body":"wiederbringen means 'to bring back'; wieder-, 'back, again', is its separable prefix. It stays joined here because it follows the modal kann as an infinitive at the end of the clause. Mich is fronted first for emphasis."}],"words":[{"surface":"Mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on wiederbringen","gloss":"me"},{"surface":"kann","lemma":"können","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"can"},{"surface":"keiner","lemma":"keiner","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on kann","gloss":"no one"},{"surface":"wiederbringen","lemma":"wiederbringen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on kann","gloss":"bring back"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l1","source":"Meine Schwestern denken mich und weben,","translation":"My sisters think of me and weave,","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"denken mich","title":"denken without its usual preposition","body":"Standard German says an mich denken, 'to think of me', using the preposition an. Here mich stands alone as a direct accusative object of denken. weben, 'to weave', shares the same subject, Schwestern."}],"words":[{"surface":"Meine","lemma":"mein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Schwestern","gloss":"my"},{"surface":"Schwestern","lemma":"Schwester","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"subject of denken","gloss":"sisters"},{"surface":"denken","lemma":"denken","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"think"},{"surface":"mich","lemma":"mich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on denken","gloss":"of me","note":"archaic: 'denken' + accusative = 'think of', instead of standard 'denken an + accusative'."},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"coordinates denken and weben","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"weben","lemma":"weben","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"coordinated with denken, shared subject Schwestern","gloss":"weave"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l2","source":"und das Haus ist voll vertrauter Schritte.","translation":"and the house is full of familiar footsteps.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"voll vertrauter Schritte","title":"voll governs the genitive","body":"voll, 'full', takes the genitive case: voll vertrauter Schritte means 'full of familiar footsteps'. vertrauter Schritte is the genitive plural of vertraute Schritte. vertraut means 'familiar, trusted'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Haus","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Haus","lemma":"Haus","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"house"},{"surface":"ist","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"voll","lemma":"voll","morphology":"adjective","role":"predicate complement, depends on ist","gloss":"full"},{"surface":"vertrauter","lemma":"vertraut","morphology":"adjective, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Schritte","gloss":"familiar"},{"surface":"Schritte","lemma":"Schritt","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"genitive object of voll","gloss":"footsteps"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l3","source":"Ich allein bin fern und fortgegeben,","translation":"I alone am far away and given away,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"fortgegeben","title":"The past participle of give away","body":"fortgegeben is the past participle of fortgeben, 'to give away, to hand over'; fort- means 'away'. Paired with fern, 'far away', it describes the speaker as someone removed and handed over to another."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on bin","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"allein","lemma":"allein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on Ich","gloss":"alone"},{"surface":"bin","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"am"},{"surface":"fern","lemma":"fern","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on bin","gloss":"far away"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on fern","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"fortgegeben","lemma":"fortgeben","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"depends on bin, coordinated with fern","gloss":"given away"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l4","source":"und ich zittere wie eine Bitte;","translation":"and I tremble like a prayer;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Bitte","title":"A plea, not the word for please","body":"die Bitte means 'a request, an entreaty, a plea', from bitten, 'to ask, to beg'. It is not the everyday word bitte, 'please'. wie eine Bitte means 'like a plea', comparing the speaker's shaking to a plea held out."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on zittere","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"ich","lemma":"ich","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on zittere","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"zittere","lemma":"zittern","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, first-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"tremble"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Bitte","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Bitte","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Bitte","lemma":"Bitte","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on zittere","gloss":"prayer"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l5","source":"denn die schöne Göttin in der Mitte","translation":"for the beautiful goddess at the center","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"denn","title":"A conjunction that keeps normal order","body":"denn is a coordinating conjunction meaning 'for, because'. Unlike weil, it does not send the verb to the end of its clause, so ordinary word order continues. in der Mitte, 'at the center', takes the dative after in here to mark position."}],"words":[{"surface":"denn","lemma":"denn","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on glüht (next segment)","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Göttin","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"schöne","lemma":"schön","morphology":"adjective, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Göttin","gloss":"beautiful"},{"surface":"Göttin","lemma":"Göttin","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"subject of glüht (next segment)","gloss":"goddess"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Göttin","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Mitte","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Mitte","lemma":"Mitte","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"center"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"eranna-an-sappho-s2-l6","source":"ihrer Mythen glüht und lebt mein Leben.","translation":"of her myths glows and lives my life.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/eranna-an-sappho-s2-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ihrer Mythen","title":"A genitive phrase split by a line","body":"ihrer Mythen is the genitive plural of ihre Mythen, 'her myths'. It completes a phrase begun on the line before, die Göttin in der Mitte ihrer Mythen, 'the goddess at the center of her myths', with the noun phrase split across the line break."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"lebt mein Leben","title":"Verb and noun share one root","body":"mein Leben, 'my life', is the accusative object of lebt, from leben, 'to live'. Verb and noun share the same root, leben and Leben, so the phrase reads plainly as 'lives my life'."}],"words":[{"surface":"ihrer","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Mythen","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"Mythen","lemma":"Mythos","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Mitte (previous segment)","gloss":"myths"},{"surface":"glüht","lemma":"glühen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence, subject Göttin (two segments back)","gloss":"glows"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on glüht","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"lebt","lemma":"leben","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on und, coordinated with glüht","gloss":"lives"},{"surface":"mein","lemma":"mein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Leben","gloss":"my"},{"surface":"Leben","lemma":"Leben","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on lebt","gloss":"life"}]}]}