# Eva · Eve Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/eva. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/eva.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/.m4a. **1** Einfach steht sie an der Kathedrale Simply she stands at the cathedral's > Adverb opening the poem: einfach means 'simple, plain' as an adjective and 'simply, just' as an adverb. Here it stands first in the sentence and modifies steht, 'stands', describing how Eve stands rather than what she is. **2** großem Aufstieg, nah der Fensterrose, great ascent, close by the rose window, > Genitive noun placed before its head: an der Kathedrale großem Aufstieg means 'at the cathedral's great ascent'. der Kathedrale is a genitive placed before its noun Aufstieg rather than after it; plain order would be am großen Aufstieg der Kathedrale. groß takes the dative ending -em after an. > Compound noun for the rose window: die Fensterrose, literally 'window rose', names the large round stained-glass window on a Gothic cathedral's front. It is a compound of das Fenster, 'window', and die Rose, 'rose', and here places Eve near it on the façade. **3** mit dem Apfel in der Apfelpose, with the apple in the apple-pose, > Coined compound for a pose: die Apfelpose is Rilke's coinage, joining der Apfel, 'apple', and die Pose, 'pose'. It names the fixed stance in which Eve is always sculpted, holding the apple. **4** schuldlos-schuldig ein für alle Male guiltless-guilty once and for all > Hyphenated pair of opposites: schuldlos-schuldig joins two opposites with a hyphen: schuldlos, 'guiltless', built with the negating suffix -los, 'without', and schuldig, 'guilty'. die Schuld means both 'guilt' and 'debt'. ein für alle Male is a fixed phrase meaning 'once and for all'. **5** an dem Wachsenden, das sie gebar, for the growing thing she bore, > Participle used as a noun: das Wachsende is the present participle of wachsen, 'to grow', used as a neuter noun meaning 'that which grows'. It is governed by an from the previous line: an dem Wachsenden means 'for the growing thing'. > Strong verb for gave birth: gebar is the simple past of gebären, 'to give birth, to bear', a strong verb: gebären, gebar, geboren. das sie gebar means 'which she bore'; das is neuter to agree with das Wachsende, and the verb stands at the end of the relative clause. **6** seit sie aus dem Kreis der Ewigkeiten since she, out of the circle of eternities, > Subordinating conjunction for since: seit means 'since' in the temporal sense. As a subordinating conjunction it opens the clause seit sie ... fortging, 'since she ... left', and sends the finite verb fortging to the end of the clause. **7** liebend fortging, um sich durchzustreiten lovingly went forth, to fight her way > Separable verb fortgehen: fortging is the simple past of the separable verb fortgehen, 'to go away, to depart', built from gehen, 'to go', and the prefix fort-, 'away'. liebend, 'lovingly', is the present participle of lieben, 'to love', used as an adverb. > um zu with a separable verb: um sich durchzustreiten means 'in order to fight her way through'. um plus zu plus infinitive expresses purpose. The verb is the reflexive, separable sich durchstreiten, 'to struggle through', and zu slips inside the verb, between prefix and stem: durch-zu-streiten. **8** durch die Erde, wie ein junges Jahr. through the earth, like a young year. > wie introducing a simile: wie here means 'like, as', introducing a simile. ein junges Jahr means 'a young year', the year at its turn. durch die Erde means 'through the earth', so the line compares Eve's passage to a new year breaking through soil. **9** Ach, sie hätte gern in jenem Land Ah, she would gladly, in that land, > Konjunktiv II with double infinitive: sie hätte ... weilen mögen is a Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of unreal wish, completed by weilen in the next line: 'she would have liked to linger'. gern means 'gladly'. mögen as a modal in the perfect takes a double infinitive, weilen mögen, rather than a participle. **10** noch ein wenig weilen mögen, achtend have lingered a little longer, heeding > Literary verb for to linger: weilen is a literary verb meaning 'to stay, to linger, to dwell a while', related to die Weile, 'a while', and verweilen, 'to tarry'. noch ein wenig weilen means 'to linger a little longer'. achtend is the present participle of achten auf, 'to pay heed to'. **11** auf der Tiere Eintracht und Verstand. the animals' concord and understanding. > Genitive plural placed before its nouns: der Tiere is the genitive plural of das Tier, 'animal', placed before the nouns it qualifies: der Tiere Eintracht und Verstand means 'the animals' concord and understanding'. Prose order would be die Eintracht und der Verstand der Tiere. die Eintracht means 'concord', der Verstand 'reason'. **12** Doch da sie den Mann entschlossen fand, Yet since she found the man resolved, > da as a causal conjunction: da here is a subordinating conjunction meaning 'since, because', not the adverb 'there'. da sie den Mann entschlossen fand means 'since she found the man resolved', and da sends its verb fand, from finden, 'to find', to the end of the clause. **13** ging sie mit ihm, nach dem Tode trachtend, she went with him, striving toward death, > trachten nach governs the dative: trachten nach means 'to strive after, to seek', and governs the dative: nach dem Tode trachtend means 'striving toward death'. trachtend is the present participle. dem Tode is der Tod, 'death', in the dative with the old literary -e ending. **14** und sie hatte Gott noch kaum gekannt. and she had hardly yet known God. > Pluperfect for had hardly known: sie hatte ... gekannt is the pluperfect of kennen, 'to know, to be acquainted with', formed with hatte plus the past participle. noch kaum means 'hardly yet, scarcely'. gekannt is the participle of kennen. --- 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.