# Hetärengräber · Graves of the Hetaerae

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** In ihren langen Haaren liegen sie  
In their long hair they lie
> Verb-second, subject moved late: German main clauses put the finite verb in second position. The line opens with the phrase in ihren langen Haaren, 'in their long hair', so liegen, 'lie', fills that slot and the subject sie, 'they', is pushed to the end.

**2** mit braunen, tief in sich gegangenen Gesichtern.  
with brown faces gone deep into themselves.
> in sich gehangen, 'gone into oneself': The idiom in sich gehen means 'to go into oneself'. Here it appears as a past participle, gegangenen, agreeing with Gesichtern, 'faces', so it describes faces that have gone deep into themselves.

**3** Die Augen zu wie vor zu vieler Ferne.  
Their eyes shut as if against too much distance.
> zu meaning 'shut': This zu is not the preposition 'to' but a predicate adjective meaning 'shut, closed', as in die Tür ist zu, 'the door is shut'. The clause has no verb: Die Augen zu means 'the eyes shut'. vor plus dative gives the cause, 'before too much distance'.

**4** Skelette, Munde, Blumen. In den Munden  
Skeletons, mouths, flowers. In the mouths
> An older plural of Mund: The everyday plural of der Mund, 'mouth', is Münder. Here Rilke uses the older plural Munde, and later the dative form Munden, 'in den Munden'.

**5** die glatten Zähne wie ein Reiseschachspiel  
the smooth teeth like a traveller's chess set
> A transparent compound noun: A compound of Reise, 'travel', Schach, 'chess', and Spiel, 'game, set'. It names a portable chess set carried on journeys, the object the teeth are compared to.

**6** aus Elfenbein in Reihen aufgestellt.  
of ivory, set up in rows.
> Separable verb aufstellen: aufstellen means 'to set up, arrange' and is a separable verb. In the past participle the prefix auf- stays attached to the front, giving aufgestellt, 'set up', rather than splitting as it would in a present-tense clause.

**7** Und Blumen, gelbe Perlen, schlanke Knochen,  
And flowers, yellow pearls, slender bones,

**8** Hände und Hemden, welkende Gewebe  
hands and shirts, withering fabrics
> A word with a double sense: das Gewebe means both a woven cloth and, in anatomy, living tissue. welkende, 'withering', modifies it and is compatible with either sense of the word.

**9** über dem eingestürzten Herzen. Aber  
over the collapsed heart. But

**10** dort unter jenen Ringen, Talismanen  
there beneath those rings, talismans
> An emphatic demonstrative: jener is a demonstrative meaning 'that, those', pointing more emphatically than der. Here it is dative plural, jenen, agreeing with Ringen, 'rings', and continuing to modify Talismanen, 'talismans'.

**11** und augenblauen Steinen (Lieblings-Angedenken)  
and eye-blue stones (favourite keepsakes)
> A compound adjective: augenblauen joins Augen, 'eyes', and blau, 'blue', into a single adjective, 'eye-blue'. It is dative plural to agree with Steinen, 'stones'.

**12** steht noch die stille Krypta des Geschlechtes,  
there still stands the silent crypt of the sex,
> A noun with several senses: das Geschlecht can mean 'sex, gender', 'the genitals', or 'lineage, generation'. Here it is genitive, des Geschlechtes, depending on Krypta, 'crypt': 'the crypt of the sex'.

**13** bis an die Wölbung voll mit Blumenblättern.  
filled to its vault with flower-petals.
> bis an plus accusative: bis an means 'right up to' and takes the accusative case: die Wölbung, 'the vault', is accusative after it. voll mit, 'filled with', then names what fills the space, Blumenblättern, 'flower-petals'.

**14** Und wieder gelbe Perlen, weitverrollte,–  
And again yellow pearls, rolled far apart,—

**15** Schalen gebrannten Tones, deren Bug  
bowls of fired clay, whose curving side
> The genitive relative pronoun: deren is the genitive form of the relative pronoun, meaning 'whose'. It refers back to Schalen, 'bowls', and introduces a clause completed in the next line by geziert hat, 'has adorned'.

**16** ihr eignes Bild geziert hat, grüne Scherben  
their own likeness has adorned, green shards
> A syncopated possessive: eignes is a poetic contraction of eigenes, 'own', with the unstressed e dropped. ihr eignes Bild means 'their own likeness', accusative neuter agreeing with Bild.

**17** von Salbenvasen, die wie Blumen duften,  
of ointment-jars that smell like flowers,
> A compound naming a jar: A compound of Salbe, 'ointment, salve', and Vasen, 'vessels, jars'. It names jars once used to hold perfumed unguent, here dative plural after von.

**18** und Formen kleiner Götter: Hausaltäre,  
and figures of little gods: household altars,

**19** Hetärenhimmel mit entzückten Göttern.  
a hetaera-heaven with delighted gods.
> A coined compound noun: Rilke joins Hetäre, 'hetaera, courtesan', to Himmel, 'heaven, sky', to make one noun. It is nominative masculine singular and stands as the head of the sentence.

**20** Gesprengte Gürtel, flache Skarabäen,  
burst girdles, flat scarabs,

**21** kleine Figuren riesigen Geschlechtes,  
small figures of giant sex,
> A descriptive genitive: riesigen Geschlechtes, 'of giant sex', is a genitive of description modifying kleine Figuren, 'small figures'. Both riesigen and Geschlechtes are genitive singular, agreeing with each other rather than with Figuren.

**22** ein Mund, der lacht, und Tanzende und Läufer,  
a mouth that laughs, and dancers and runners,
> A participle used as a noun: Tanzende is the present participle of tanzen, 'to dance', used as a noun meaning 'dancers'. German commonly turns participles into nouns this way, unlike Läufer, 'runners', which is a plain agent noun beside it.

**23** goldene Fibeln, kleinen Bogen ähnlich  
golden brooches, like small bows
> ähnlich takes the dative: The adjective ähnlich, 'similar to, like', governs a dative object, and that object usually comes before it. kleinen Bogen, dative plural, 'to small bows', precedes ähnlich rather than following it.

**24** zur Jagd auf Tier- und Vogelamulette,  
for the hunt of animal- and bird-amulets,
> A suspended compound: The hyphen after Tier- marks a compound left incomplete because a second one follows: Tier- und Vogelamulette stands for Tieramulette und Vogelamulette, 'animal-amulets and bird-amulets'. The shared ending amulette is understood after Tier- too.

**25** und lange Nadeln, zieres Hausgeräte  
and long pins, dainty household ware
> zier, an old form of zierlich: zier is an archaic adjective meaning 'delicate, dainty, finely made', related to zieren, 'to adorn'. zieres Hausgeräte is nominative neuter singular, 'dainty household ware'.

**26** und eine runde Scherbe roten Grundes,  
and a round shard of red ground,
> Grund meaning 'background': Grund can mean 'ground, reason, bottom', or, as here, a painted background colour. roten Grundes is genitive, 'of red ground', depending on Scherbe, 'shard'.

**27** darauf, wie eines Eingangs schwarze Aufschrift,  
on it, like the black inscription of a doorway,
> A fused pronoun and preposition: darauf fuses da-, 'there', with auf, 'on', to mean 'on it'. German uses this fused form instead of a preposition plus pronoun when referring back to a thing rather than a person, here the Scherbe, 'shard'.

**28** die straffen Beine eines Viergespannes.  
the taut legs of a four-horse team.
> A compound naming a team: vier, 'four', combines with Gespann, 'team of harnessed animals', to name a four-horse chariot team. It is genitive singular, eines Viergespannes, depending on Beine, 'legs'.

**29** Und wieder Blumen, Perlen, die verrollt sind,  
And again flowers, pearls that have rolled away,
> Perfect formed with sein: verrollen, 'to roll away', is a verb of motion, so its perfect uses sein rather than haben: die verrollt sind means 'that have rolled away'. The prefix ver- adds the sense of scattering or moving off.

**30** die hellen Lenden einer kleinen Leier,  
the bright flanks of a small lyre,
> A body-part word reused: die Lenden normally means 'loins, hips' on a body. Here it is applied to Leier, 'lyre', genitive singular, to name the curved sides of the instrument.

**31** und zwischen Schleiern, die gleich Nebeln fallen,  
and amid veils that fall like mists,
> gleich plus dative meaning 'like': Used this way, gleich functions as a preposition meaning 'like' and takes the dative: gleich Nebeln, 'like mists'. It is a more elevated alternative to wie.

**32** wie ausgekrochen aus des Schuhes Puppe:  
as if crept out of the shoe's chrysalis:
> A noun with two senses: die Puppe can mean 'doll' or, in entomology, 'pupa, chrysalis'. Here it is dative singular after aus, following ausgekrochen, 'crept out', which supports the insect sense.

**33** des Fußgelenkes leichter Schmetterling.  
the ankle's light butterfly.
> A genitive placed before its noun: des Fußgelenkes, 'of the ankle', is genitive and stands in front of the noun it modifies, Schmetterling, 'butterfly', rather than after it. This front position is an older, more formal word order.


**34** So liegen sie mit Dingen angefüllt,  
So they lie, filled up with things,
> Separable verb anfüllen: anfüllen, 'to fill up', is a separable verb, and its past participle inserts -ge- after the prefix: angefüllt. mit Dingen, dative, names what fills them: 'filled up with things'.

**35** kostbaren Dingen, Steinen, Spielzeug, Hausrat,  
with precious things, stones, toys, household goods,

**36** zerschlagnem Tand (was alles in sie abfiel),  
with smashed trinkets (all that fell down into them),
> An old-fashioned noun: der Tand is a slightly old-fashioned word for cheap or worthless ornaments. zerschlagnem is a poetic contraction of zerschlagenem, 'smashed', dative singular agreeing with Tand.

**37** und dunkeln wie der Grund von einem Fluß.  
and they grow dark like the bed of a river.
> An adjective turned verb: dunkeln here is a verb, present tense, third-person plural, meaning 'they grow dark', not the adjective dunkel. It takes no ending change from the adjective form but functions as the main verb of the clause.


**38** Flußbetten waren sie,  
Riverbeds they were,
> A compound naming a bed: A compound of Fluß, 'river', and Bett, 'bed'. It is nominative plural, the predicate noun after waren, 'were': 'riverbeds they were'.

**39** darüber hin in kurzen schnellen Wellen  
over which, in short swift waves
> A fused adverb plus direction: darüber fuses da-, 'there', with über, 'over', meaning 'over it'. hin adds a sense of motion away from the speaker, so together they describe waves moving over the riverbed.

**40** (die weiter wollten zu dem nächsten Leben)  
(that wanted onward to the next life)
> wollten, 'wanted': wollten is the past tense of wollen, 'to want', third-person plural, here used as a full verb rather than a modal with an infinitive. weiter, 'onward', and zu dem nächsten Leben, 'to the next life', give the direction wanted.

**41** die Leiber vieler Jünglinge sich stürzten  
the bodies of many youths hurled themselves
> sich stürzen, 'to hurl oneself': stürzen paired with the reflexive sich means 'to hurl, plunge oneself', distinct from plain stürzen, 'to fall'. sich is accusative plural, agreeing with Leiber, 'bodies', the subject.

**42** und in denen der Männer Ströme rauschten.  
and in which the streams of men rushed.
> A dative relative after a preposition: denen is the dative plural relative pronoun, used after a preposition instead of the simple welche. in denen refers back to the riverbeds and introduces the clause der Männer Ströme rauschten, 'the streams of men rushed'.

**43** Und manchmal brachen Knaben aus den Bergen  
And sometimes boys broke from the mountains
> brechen ... aus, 'to break out': aus here is a separable prefix belonging to ausbrechen, 'to break out', though it is placed at the end of the clause: brachen ... aus. brachen is the past tense, third-person plural, of the verb.

**44** der Kindheit, kamen zagen Falles nieder  
of childhood, came down with timid fall
> A genitive of manner: zagen Falles, 'with timid fall', is a genitive phrase used adverbially to describe how the boys came down. Both zagen and Falles are genitive masculine singular.

**45** und spielten mit den Dingen auf dem Grunde,  
and played with the things on the river-floor,
> Grund meaning 'riverbed, bottom': auf dem Grunde uses Grund in its sense of 'bottom, floor', here of a river, dative singular after auf. This is a different sense from Grund meaning 'reason' or the painted 'background' seen elsewhere in the poem.

**46** bis das Gefälle ihr Gefühl ergriff:  
until the gradient seized their feeling:
> A noun naming a slope: das Gefälle names the downward slope or drop of a river's course. It is nominative singular, the subject of ergriff, 'seized': 'the gradient seized their feeling'.


**47** Dann füllten sie mit flachem klaren Wasser  
Then they filled with shallow, clear water

**48** die ganze Breite dieses breiten Weges  
the whole width of this wide way
> Breite and breiten from the same root: die Breite, 'width', is a noun built from the adjective breit, 'wide', which also appears here as breiten, genitive singular modifying Weges, 'way'. The line pairs the noun and adjective from the same root.

**49** und trieben Wirbel an den tiefen Stellen;  
and drove eddies at the deep places;
> A noun naming a current: der Wirbel names a swirling current in water. It is accusative plural here, the object of trieben, 'drove': 'drove eddies at the deep places'.

**50** und spiegelten zum erstenmal die Ufer  
and for the first time mirrored the banks
> spiegeln, 'to mirror, reflect': spiegelten is the past tense, third-person plural, of spiegeln, 'to mirror'. Its subject is the unstated Ströme, 'streams', from earlier in the sentence, and its object is die Ufer, 'the banks'.

**51** und ferne Vogelrufe, während hoch  
and distant bird-calls, while high above
> A subordinating conjunction of time: während is a subordinating conjunction meaning 'while', introducing a clause of simultaneous action. It sends its verb to the end of that clause, here completed later in the sentence.

**52** die Sternennächte eines süßen Landes  
the starry nights of a sweet land
> A compound naming nights: A compound of Stern, 'star', and Nacht, 'night'. It is nominative plural, the subject of wuchsen, 'grew', in the following line.

**53** in Himmel wuchsen, die sich nirgends schlossen.  
grew into skies that nowhere closed.
> sich schließen, 'to close': schließen paired with the reflexive sich means 'to close itself, close up'. sich nirgends schlossen, 'nowhere closed themselves', describes skies that never came to an end or boundary.

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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.