# Geburt der Venus · Birth of Venus

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** An diesem Morgen nach der Nacht, die bang  
On this morning, after the night that had passed
> an plus dative for time: German names a day or part of a day with an plus the dative case: an diesem Morgen, 'on this morning'. diesem is the dative masculine form of dieser, 'this', agreeing with Morgen, 'morning'.

**2** vergangen war mit Rufen, Unruh, Aufruhr,–  
in dread, with cries, unrest, uproar—
> Past perfect formed with sein: vergehen, 'to pass, to elapse', is a verb of change and forms its perfect tenses with sein, not haben. vergangen war is the past perfect, 'had passed', describing die Nacht, 'the night', from the line before.
> Unruh and Aufruhr: Unruh is a shortened, poetic form of Unruhe, 'unrest, disquiet'. Aufruhr means 'uproar, turmoil'. Both are dative after mit, 'with': mit Rufen, Unruh, Aufruhr means 'with cries, unrest, uproar'.

**3** brach alles Meer noch einmal auf und schrie.  
the whole sea broke open once more and cried out.
> Separable verb, prefix at the end: aufbrechen, 'to burst open', is separable. In this main clause the prefix auf splits off and goes to the end of the clause: brach alles Meer ... auf, 'the whole sea broke open'. brach comes from brechen, 'to break'.

**4** Und als der Schrei sich langsam wieder schloß  
And as the cry slowly closed again
> One time past event marker: German uses als, 'when', for a one time event in the past, not wenn. als is a subordinating conjunction, so it sends its verb, schloß, to the end of the clause: als der Schrei ... schloß, 'when the cry closed'.

**5** und von der Himmel blassem Tag und Anfang  
and, from the sky's pale day and beginning,
> Older genitive form of Himmel: Standard German forms the genitive of der Himmel, 'the sky', as des Himmels. Here Rilke uses the older form der Himmel instead, so der Himmel blassem Tag means 'the sky's pale day', with Tag itself in the dative after von.

**6** herabfiel in der stummen Fische Abgrund–:  
fell down into the abyss of the mute fish—:
> Separable verb sent to the end: herabfallen joins herab, 'down, toward the speaker', to fallen, 'to fall', meaning 'to fall down'. In this subordinate als clause the whole verb stays together at the end: als ... herabfiel, 'when it fell down'.
> Genitive plural placed before its noun: der stummen Fische is a genitive plural, 'of the mute fish', from stumm, 'mute', and Fisch, 'fish'. It is placed before its noun, Abgrund, 'abyss', instead of the usual order, der Abgrund der stummen Fische.

**7** gebar das Meer.  
the sea gave birth.
> Strong verb, simple past: gebären, 'to give birth', is a strong verb, and its simple past is gebar, 'gave birth'. das Meer, 'the sea', is its subject: gebar das Meer means 'the sea gave birth'.


**8** Von erster Sonne schimmerte der Haarschaum  
In the first sunlight the hair-foam shimmered
> A compound noun: Haarschaum joins Haar, 'hair', and Schaum, 'foam', into one word, 'hair foam'. German forms compounds this way freely, and the last part, Schaum, decides the gender, so der Haarschaum is masculine.

**9** der weiten Wogenscham, an deren Rand  
of the wide wave-sex, on whose edge
> A coined compound noun: Wogenscham joins Woge, 'wave', and Scham, which can mean 'shame' or, anatomically, 'the private parts', as in Schamhaar, 'pubic hair'. Rilke invents this word, so it has no listed meaning outside this poem, roughly 'wave sex'.
> Genitive relative pronoun: deren is the genitive form of the relative pronoun, here feminine singular, 'whose, of which'. an deren Rand means 'on the edge of which', referring back to Wogenscham. an plus Rand takes the dative here, marking a fixed position.

**10** das Mädchen aufstand, weiß, verwirrt und feucht.  
the girl stood up, white, bewildered and moist.
> Separable verb sent to the end: aufstehen, 'to stand up', is separable. This is a relative clause, so its verb goes to the end with the prefix still joined: das Mädchen aufstand, 'the girl stood up'. Mädchen is neuter because nouns ending in chen are always neuter.

**11** So wie ein junges grünes Blatt sich rührt,  
Just as a young green leaf stirs,
> A reflexive verb form: sich rühren means 'to stir, to move'. The pronoun sich, 'itself', is part of the verb, not a separate object. So wie, 'just as', opens a comparison that continues across several lines: ein Blatt sich rührt, 'a leaf stirs'.

**12** sich reckt und Eingerolltes langsam aufschlägt,  
stretches itself and slowly opens what was curled up,
> Adjective used as a noun: eingerollt, 'rolled up, coiled', is the past participle of einrollen, 'to roll up'. Capitalized, it becomes the neuter noun Eingerolltes, 'that which is rolled up'. It is accusative here as the object of aufschlägt, 'opens'.
> To open out: aufschlagen is a separable verb; with a leaf or a bud it means 'to open out, to unfold'. schlägt ... auf here has Eingerolltes, 'what was curled up', as its object: it opens out what was rolled up.

**13** entfaltete ihr Leib sich in die Kühle  
her body unfolded into the coolness
> Reflexive verb, to unfold: sich entfalten means 'to unfold, to open out'. entfaltete is its simple past, 'unfolded'. The subject is ihr Leib, 'her body': entfaltete ihr Leib sich means 'her body unfolded'.

**14** hinein und in den unberührten Frühwind.  
and into the untouched early wind.
> hinein reinforces a preposition: hinein is an adverb meaning 'into, inward'. It reinforces the preposition in from the line before: in die Kühle hinein means 'into the coolness', with hinein placed at the start of this line for the verse.


**15** Wie Monde stiegen klar die Kniee auf  
Like moons the knees rose clearly up
> Separable verb, prefix at the end: aufsteigen, 'to rise, to ascend', is separable. In this main clause auf goes to the end: stiegen ... die Kniee auf means 'the knees rose'. Kniee is an older plural spelling of Knie, 'knee'.

**16** und tauchten in der Schenkel Wolkenränder;  
and dipped into the cloud-edges of the thighs;
> Genitive plural placed before its noun: der Schenkel is the genitive plural of Schenkel, 'thigh', meaning 'of the thighs'. It is placed before its noun, Wolkenränder, 'cloud edges', a compound of Wolke, 'cloud', and Rand, 'edge': 'the cloud edges of the thighs'.

**17** der Waden schmaler Schatten wich zurück,  
the slender shadow of the calves drew back,
> Separable verb, prefix at the end: zurückweichen, 'to draw back, to retreat', is separable. In this main clause zurück goes to the end: wich ... zurück, 'drew back'. wich comes from weichen, 'to yield, to give way'.

**18** die Füße spannten sich und wurden licht,  
the feet tensed and grew bright,
> Bright, an unusual sense: licht is an adjective here meaning 'bright, luminous', not the noun das Licht, 'light'. wurden, from werden, 'to become', pairs with it: wurden licht means 'grew bright', describing die Füße, 'the feet'.

**19** und die Gelenke lebten wie die Kehlen  
and the joints lived like the throats

**20** von Trinkenden.  
of those who drink.
> Adjective used as a noun: trinkend, 'drinking', is the present participle of trinken, 'to drink'. Used as a noun and capitalized, Trinkende means 'those who drink'. Here it is dative plural after von, 'of': von Trinkenden means 'of those who drink'.


**21** Und in dem Kelch des Beckens lag der Leib  
And in the chalice of the pelvis the body lay
> The noun chalice: der Kelch means 'chalice, cup', the vessel used in church for wine. in dem Kelch des Beckens uses it to name des Beckens, 'of the pelvis': 'in the chalice of the pelvis'.

**22** wie eine junge Frucht in eines Kindes Hand.  
like a young fruit in a child's hand.
> Genitive noun placed before its noun: eines Kindes is the genitive of ein Kind, 'a child', meaning 'a child's'. It stands before its noun Hand, 'hand': eines Kindes Hand means 'a child's hand', instead of die Hand eines Kindes.

**23** In seines Nabels engem Becher war  
In the narrow cup of its navel there was
> Genitive noun placed before its noun: seines Nabels is the genitive of sein Nabel, 'its navel', meaning 'its navel's'. It stands before its noun Becher, 'cup', which is dative after in: seines Nabels engem Becher means 'in the narrow cup of its navel'.

**24** das ganze Dunkel dieses hellen Lebens.  
the whole darkness of this bright life.
> Dunkel and hellen: das Dunkel, 'the darkness', is the adjective dunkel, 'dark', used as a noun. hellen is the genitive form of hell, 'bright, light', describing Lebens, 'of life': dieses hellen Lebens means 'of this bright life'.


**25** Darunter hob sich licht die kleine Welle  
Below it the little wave rose bright
> Reflexive verb, to rise: sich heben means 'to rise, to lift itself'. hob is its simple past: hob sich means 'rose'. Darunter, 'below it', opens the sentence, and licht here means 'bright', describing die kleine Welle, 'the little wave'.

**26** und floß beständig über nach den Lenden,  
and flowed steadily over toward the loins,
> Separable verb split apart: uberfliessen, 'to overflow, to flow over', is separable, so its prefix uber- splits off and goes to the end: floss bestandig uber. floss is the older spelling of floss, past tense of the strong verb fliessen, 'to flow'. nach den Lenden uses nach plus dative for direction, toward the loins.

**27** wo dann und wann ein stilles Rieseln war.  
where now and then a quiet trickling was.
> Fixed idiom for occasionally: dann und wann is a fixed idiom meaning 'now and then, every so often'. ein stilles Rieseln, 'a quiet trickling', turns the verb rieseln, 'to trickle', into a neuter noun. The relative wo, 'where', points back to den Lenden in the line before.

**28** Durchschienen aber und noch ohne Schatten,  
Shone through, though, and still without shadow,
> Past participle with no ge-: durchscheinen means 'to shine through, to be translucent'. Its prefix durch- is unstressed and stays fixed, so the verb is inseparable and its past participle drops ge-: durchschienen, 'shone through'. It is fronted here as a predicate adjective, describing die Scham two lines on.

**29** wie ein Bestand von Birken im April,  
like a stand of birches in April,
> A stand of trees: der Bestand has the forestry sense 'a stand, a growth' of trees. ein Bestand von Birken is 'a stand of birches'. von plus dative, here Birken, marks what the stand is made of.

**30** warm, leer und unverborgen lag die Scham.  
warm, empty and unconcealed the sex lay.
> Un- reverses a past participle: unverborgen means 'unconcealed, not hidden', from un- plus verborgen, the past participle of verbergen, 'to conceal'. It stands as a predicate adjective after warm and leer, all three describing die Scham, the grammatical subject of lag.


**31** Jetzt stand der Schultern rege Wage schon  
Now the lively scale of the shoulders already stood
> Older spelling and fronted genitive: Wage is an older spelling of Waage, 'scale, balance'. der Schultern rege Wage fronts the genitive der Schultern, 'of the shoulders', before its noun Wage, so the phrase reads 'the shoulders' lively balance'. rege means 'lively, active'.

**32** im Gleichgewichte auf dem graden Körper,  
in equilibrium upon the straight body,
> Archaic dative ending on a noun: das Gleichgewicht, 'balance, equilibrium', here takes the old dative ending -e after in: im Gleichgewichte. This -e on masculine and neuter dative nouns now survives only in poetry and set phrases like im Grunde. graden is a poetic spelling of geraden, 'straight'.

**33** der aus dem Becken wie ein Springbrunn aufstieg  
which rose out of the pelvis like a fountain
> Clipped compound, verb at the end: der Springbrunnen, 'a fountain', combines springen, 'to spring, leap', with Brunnen, 'well, spring'; here it is clipped to Springbrunn for the meter. The relative pronoun der, 'which', is the subject of aufstieg, the separable verb aufsteigen sent to the end of its clause.

**34** und zögernd in den langen Armen abfiel  
and hesitatingly fell away down the long arms
> Separable verb at clause end: abfallen, 'to fall away, to drop off', is separable, and in this relative clause the whole verb sits at the end: in den langen Armen abfiel. zogernd, 'hesitatingly', describes how it falls.

**35** und rascher in dem vollen Kall des Haars.  
and faster in the full fall of the hair.
> Rare word standing in for fall: Kall, sometimes Gekall, is a rare, dialectal word for the rush of falling water. The parse treats it as a stand-in for Fall, 'fall, descent', matching the translation. in dem vollen Kall des Haars means 'in the full fall of the hair', des Haars being genitive.


**36** Dann ging sehr langsam das Gesicht vorbei:  
Then very slowly the face went past:
> Separable verb split by the clause: vorbeigehen, 'to go past, to pass by', is separable, so its prefix vorbei- goes to the end: ging sehr langsam das Gesicht vorbei. das Gesicht, 'the face', is the subject of ging, which stands second in the clause.

**37** aus dem verkürzten Dunkel seiner Neigung  
out of the foreshortened darkness of its inclination
> Past participle used as adjective: verkurzt, 'shortened, foreshortened', is the past participle of verkurzen used as an adjective, here describing Dunkel, 'darkness'. aus dem verkurzten Dunkel is dative after aus, 'out of'; seiner Neigung, 'of its inclination', is genitive.

**38** in klares, wagrechtes Erhobensein.  
into clear, horizontal raisedness.
> A phrase made into a noun: erhoben sein means 'to be raised, lifted'. Here it is nominalized into one neuter noun, das Erhobensein, 'the state of being raised'. in klares, wagrechtes Erhobensein is accusative, showing motion into that state. wagrecht, modern waagerecht, means 'horizontal'.

**39** Und hinter ihm verschloß sich steil das Kinn.  
And behind it the chin closed off steeply.
> Reflexive strong verb, verb second: sich verschliessen means 'to close itself, to shut off'. verschliessen is strong, with past tense verschloss, spelled verschloss here in the old style. hinter ihm, 'behind it', opens the clause, so the subject das Kinn follows the verb, keeping the verb in second position.


**40** Jetzt, da der Hals gestreckt war wie ein Strahl  
Now, since the neck was stretched like a ray
> Da meaning since: As a subordinating conjunction, da means 'since, now that', and sends its verb to the end: da der Hals gestreckt war. gestreckt war is a past-tense state passive, 'was in the state of being stretched', using sein rather than haben. Strahl means 'ray, beam, jet'.

**41** und wie ein Blumenstiel, darin der Saft steigt,  
and like a flower-stem in which the sap rises,
> Pronominal adverb for in which: darin fuses da(r)- with in to mean 'in it, in which, therein'. It stands for 'in which' relative to Blumenstiel, 'flower-stem': ein Blumenstiel, darin der Saft steigt. German uses these da(r)- and wo- forms instead of preposition plus relative pronoun for things.

**42** streckten sich auch die Arme aus wie Hälse  
the arms too stretched out like the necks
> Separable and reflexive together: sich ausstrecken, 'to stretch out', is both separable and reflexive: the reflexive sich stays in place while the prefix aus- moves to the end, streckten sich auch die Arme aus. streckten, plural past of strecken, agrees with the plural subject die Arme.

**43** von Schwänen, wenn sie nach dem Ufer suchen.  
of swans when they search for the shore.
> Suchen nach plus dative: suchen nach means 'to search for, to seek after'; nach governs the dative, here dem Ufer, 'the shore'. wenn sie ... suchen uses wenn, 'when, whenever', for a general, repeated situation rather than one specific moment.


**44** Dann kam in dieses Leibes dunkle Frühe  
Then into this body's dark early hour came
> Fronted genitive before its noun: dieses Leibes is genitive, 'of this body', placed before its noun Fruhe: dieses Leibes dunkle Fruhe, 'this body's dark early hour'. die Fruhe means 'the early morning'. The clause opens with this phrase, so the subject follows the verb kam in the next line.

**45** wie Morgenwind der erste Atemzug.  
like a morning wind the first breath.
> A compound noun for one breath: der Atemzug is a single 'breath, intake of breath', literally Atem, 'breath', plus Zug, 'pull, draught'. der erste Atemzug, 'the first breath', is the subject of kam from the line before.

**46** Im zartesten Geäst der Aderbäume  
In the most delicate branching of the vein-trees
> A coined compound noun: Aderbaume joins Ader, 'vein', with Baum, 'tree', in the plural: 'vein-trees'. das Geast is the collective noun for the branches of a tree; im zartesten Geast is the superlative of zart, 'tender, fine', 'in the most delicate branching'.

**47** entstand ein Flüstern, und das Blut begann  
a whispering arose, and the blood began
> Strong verb of coming into being: entstehen, 'to arise, to come into being', is a strong verb; its past tense is entstand. Like other verbs of change, it takes sein rather than haben in the perfect tense. entstand ein Flustern means 'a whispering arose'.

**48** zu rauschen über seinen tiefen Stellen.  
to rush over its deep places.
> Sound verb for rushing water: rauschen describes the sound of rushing water, wind in leaves, or surging blood: 'to rush, to surge, to murmur'. begann zu rauschen means 'began to rush'. uber seinen tiefen Stellen is dative after uber, marking position, 'over its deep places'.

**49** Und dieser Wind wuchs an: nun warf er sich  
And this wind grew: now it flung itself
> Separable verb, prefix at the end: anwachsen, 'to grow, to swell', is separable, so its prefix an- goes to the end of the main clause: dieser Wind wuchs an. wuchs is the strong past tense of wachsen, 'to grow'. After the colon, nun warf er sich begins the reflexive verb sich werfen, 'to fling oneself'.

**50** mit allem Atem in die neuen Brüste  
with all its breath into the new breasts
> In plus accusative for motion: warf ... sich ... in die neuen Bruste means 'flung itself into the new breasts'. in takes the accusative here because it marks motion into something, so die neuen Bruste is accusative, not dative.

**51** und füllte sie und drückte sich in sie,–  
and filled them and pressed itself into them—
> Sich drucken in plus accusative: sich drucken in, 'to press oneself into', again takes the accusative for motion: in sie, 'into them', referring back to die Bruste. sie as an object is accusative here, identical in form to the nominative. The reflexive sich keeps the wind as the one acting.

**52** daß sie wie Segel, von der Ferne voll,  
so that they, like sails full of the distance,
> Result clause sends verb to end: dass, an older spelling of dass, means 'so that' and is subordinating, so it sends its verb, drangten in the next line, to the end of the clause. von der Ferne voll, 'full of the distance', is an inserted phrase describing the sails.

**53** das leichte Mädchen nach dem Strande drängten.  
drove the light girl toward the shore.
> Nach plus dative for direction: nach dem Strande, 'toward the shore', uses nach with the dative to show direction. drangten, plural past of drangen, 'to drive, to push', has das leichte Madchen as its object, 'drove the light girl'.


**54** So landete die Göttin.  
So the goddess came ashore.
> Weak verb, simple past tense: landen, 'to land, to come ashore', is a weak verb; its simple past is landete. die Gottin, 'the goddess', is the subject of landete, and So, 'so, thus', opens the sentence, sending the verb straight after it.


**55** Hinter ihr,  
Behind her,

**56** die rasch dahinschritt durch die jungen Ufer,  
who strode swiftly on through the young shores,
> Compound verb, verb second: dahinschreiten, 'to stride on, to stride along', joins dahin, 'along, onward', with schreiten, 'to stride'; its past tense is dahinschritt. die, a relative pronoun, is the subject, referring back to die Gottin.

**57** erhoben sich den ganzen Vormittag  
all morning long there rose up
> Accusative for duration of time: den ganzen Vormittag, 'the whole morning', is accusative because it names a stretch of time something happens over, not a location. erhoben sich, from sich erheben, 'to rise up', has its plural subject following in the next line.

**58** die Blumen und die Halme, warm, verwirrt  
the flowers and the grass-stalks, warm, disordered
> A plural noun for grass stalks: der Halm means 'a stalk, a blade', and die Halme is its plural, 'the grass-stalks'. It is coordinated with die Blumen, 'the flowers', both subjects sharing the predicate adjectives warm and verwirrt, 'disordered'.

**59** wie aus Umarmung. Und sie ging und lief.  
as if from an embrace. And she walked and ran.
> Wie aus for comparison: wie aus Umarmung means 'as though out of an embrace', with aus plus dative, Umarmung, marking origin. The sentence then shifts to two simple past verbs, ging and lief, 'walked' and 'ran', both from sie, 'she'.


**60** Am Mittag aber, in der schwersten Stunde,  
But at noon, in the heaviest hour,
> Am plus dative for time: Am Mittag, 'at noon', uses an, contracted to am, with the dative to mark a point in time. aber, 'but', here functions as an adverb rather than a conjunction. in der schwersten Stunde is the superlative of schwer, 'heavy', 'in the heaviest hour'.

**61** hob sich das Meer noch einmal auf und warf  
the sea heaved up once more and flung
> Separable reflexive verb: sich aufheben, 'to heave up, to rise up', is separable and reflexive: sich stays in place while auf moves to the end, hob sich das Meer noch einmal auf. hob is the strong past of heben, 'to lift'. und warf begins a new clause with the same subject.

**62** einen Delphin an jene selbe Stelle.  
a dolphin onto that same place.
> An plus accusative for onto: an jene selbe Stelle, 'onto that same place', uses an with the accusative because it marks motion onto a surface. jene, 'that', and selbe, 'same', both agree with the feminine accusative noun Stelle.

**63** Tot, rot und offen.  
Dead, red and open.
> Three predicate adjectives in a row: Tot, rot und offen, 'dead, red and open', are three predicate adjectives with no verb stated, continuing the sentence before. Predicate adjectives in German never take endings, so all three stand in their bare form.

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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.