{"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":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters","title":{"source":"Jugendbildnis meines Vaters","translated":"Portrait of My Father as a Young Man"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/letzter-abend","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/selbstbildnis-aus-dem-jahre-1906","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":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l1","source":"Im Auge Traum. Die Stirn wie in Berührung","translation":"Dream in the eye. The brow as if in touch","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Im Auge","title":"Contraction of in and dem","body":"Im fuses the preposition in with the dative article dem, so im Auge means 'in dem Auge', 'in the eye'. In takes the dative when it marks location, where something is, and the accusative when it marks direction, where something goes. The line has no verb; Traum stands alone, 'dream'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Traum","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"Auge","lemma":"Auge","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Im","gloss":"eye"},{"surface":"Traum","lemma":"Traum","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"dream"},{"surface":"Die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Stirn","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Stirn","lemma":"Stirn","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"brow"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on in","gloss":"as if"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Stirn","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"Berührung","lemma":"Berührung","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on in","gloss":"touch"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l2","source":"mit etwas Fernem. Um den Mund enorm","translation":"with something far away. About the mouth, enormous","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"etwas Fernem","title":"Adjective as noun after etwas","body":"Fernem is the adjective fern, 'distant, far', used as a neuter noun after etwas, meaning 'something distant'. After etwas the adjective is capitalized and takes the strong dative ending -em, here governed by mit. German forms such nouns freely, as in etwas Schönes, 'something beautiful', or nichts Neues, 'nothing new'."}],"words":[{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Berührung","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"etwas","lemma":"etwas","morphology":"pronoun, indefinite","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"something"},{"surface":"Fernem","lemma":"fern","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on etwas","gloss":"far away"},{"surface":"Um","lemma":"um","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Jugend","gloss":"around"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Mund","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Mund","lemma":"Mund","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Um","gloss":"mouth"},{"surface":"enorm","lemma":"enorm","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on viel","gloss":"enormous"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l3","source":"viel Jugend, ungelächelte Verführung,","translation":"much youth, an unsmiled seduction,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ungelächelte","title":"A coined negated participle","body":"Ungelächelt is coined from lächeln, 'to smile', with the negating prefix un- added to its past participle. There is no ordinary verb 'to un-smile'; Rilke builds the word for this line. Ungelächelte agrees with the feminine noun Verführung, 'seduction', taking the nominative ending -e."}],"words":[{"surface":"viel","lemma":"viel","morphology":"determiner","role":"depends on Um","gloss":"much"},{"surface":"Jugend","lemma":"Jugend","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on viel","gloss":"youth"},{"surface":"ungelächelte","lemma":"ungelächelt","morphology":"adjective, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Verführung","gloss":"unsmiled","note":"A Rilke coinage: 'ungelächelt' ('un-smiled') — seductiveness that was never met with a smile."},{"surface":"Verführung","lemma":"Verführung","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Jugend","gloss":"seduction"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l4","source":"und vor der vollen schmückenden Verschnürung","translation":"and before the full ornamenting lacing","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"schmückenden","title":"Present participle used as adjective","body":"Schmückend is the present participle of schmücken, 'to adorn, to decorate', used here as an adjective meaning 'ornamenting'. German forms such participles with -end, like English -ing, then declines them like any adjective. Here it takes -en for dative feminine after vor der. Verschnürung names the cording or braided lacing on a uniform."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Säbelkorb","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"vor","lemma":"vor","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Säbelkorb","gloss":"before"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Verschnürung","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"vollen","lemma":"voll","morphology":"adjective, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Verschnürung","gloss":"full"},{"surface":"schmückenden","lemma":"schmückend","morphology":"adjective, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Verschnürung","gloss":"ornamenting"},{"surface":"Verschnürung","lemma":"Verschnürung","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on vor","gloss":"lacing"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l5","source":"der schlanken adeligen Uniform","translation":"of the slim aristocratic uniform","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"adeligen","title":"Adjective meaning noble","body":"Adelig, also spelled adlig, means 'noble, aristocratic', from der Adel, 'the nobility'. It takes the genitive ending -en in der schlanken adeligen Uniform, 'of the slim aristocratic uniform', agreeing with the feminine noun Uniform."}],"words":[{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Uniform","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"schlanken","lemma":"schlank","morphology":"adjective, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Uniform","gloss":"slim"},{"surface":"adeligen","lemma":"adelig","morphology":"adjective, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Uniform","gloss":"aristocratic"},{"surface":"Uniform","lemma":"Uniform","morphology":"noun, genitive, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Verschnürung","gloss":"uniform"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l6","source":"der Säbelkorb und beide Hände–, die","translation":"the sabre-guard and both the hands—, that","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Säbelkorb","title":"A compound noun for equipment","body":"Säbelkorb combines Säbel, 'sabre', and Korb, 'basket', naming the basket shaped metal guard that protects the hand on a cavalry sabre's hilt. Die, in the next clause, is a relative pronoun meaning 'that, which', referring back to Hände, 'hands'."}],"words":[{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Säbelkorb","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Säbelkorb","lemma":"Säbelkorb","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"sabre-guard"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on Säbelkorb","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"beide","lemma":"beide","morphology":"determiner, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Hände–","gloss":"both"},{"surface":"Hände–","lemma":"Hand","morphology":"noun, nominative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on und","gloss":"hands"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"subject of abwarten","gloss":"that"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l7","source":"abwarten, ruhig, zu nichts hingedrängt.","translation":"wait, calm, pressed toward nothing.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"hingedrängt","title":"Separable prefix in a participle","body":"Hindrängen, 'to press or urge toward', is a separable verb. In main clauses its prefix hin- splits off, but in the past participle it rejoins the stem with -ge- inserted between them, giving hingedrängt. Zu nichts hingedrängt means 'urged toward nothing'."}],"words":[{"surface":"abwarten","lemma":"abwarten","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"wait"},{"surface":"ruhig","lemma":"ruhig","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on abwarten","gloss":"calm"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hingedrängt","gloss":"toward"},{"surface":"nichts","lemma":"nichts","morphology":"pronoun, neuter","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"nothing"},{"surface":"hingedrängt","lemma":"hindrängen","morphology":"verb, past participle","role":"depends on abwarten","gloss":"pressed"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l8","source":"Und nun fast nicht mehr sichtbar: als ob sie","translation":"And now almost no longer visible: as though they","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l8.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"als ob","title":"A phrase that triggers subjunctive","body":"Als ob means 'as though' and triggers the subjunctive, Konjunktiv II, the mood for the hypothetical. The verb it governs, verschwänden, 'were vanishing', appears only at the end of the next line. German can hold such a clause open across a line break before supplying its verb."}],"words":[{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on sichtbar","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"nun","lemma":"nun","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on sichtbar","gloss":"now"},{"surface":"fast","lemma":"fast","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nicht","gloss":"almost"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on sichtbar","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"mehr","lemma":"mehr","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on nicht","gloss":"longer"},{"surface":"sichtbar","lemma":"sichtbar","morphology":"adjective","role":"depends on Hände–","gloss":"visible"},{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on sichtbar","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"ob","lemma":"ob","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on sichtbar","gloss":"though"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"they"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l9","source":"zuerst, die Fernes greifenden, verschwänden.","translation":"first, the ones that grasp at distance, were vanishing.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l9.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"die Fernes greifenden","title":"Participle used as a noun","body":"Die greifenden nominalizes the participle greifend, 'grasping', into 'the ones that grasp'. Fernes greifend, 'grasping at the distant', is folded inside it, standing for the hands. German often lets such a participial phrase function as a noun itself. Verschwänden is the subjunctive, Konjunktiv II, of verschwinden, 'to vanish'."}],"words":[{"surface":"zuerst","lemma":"zuerst","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on verschwänden","gloss":"first"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, plural","role":"depends on greifenden","gloss":"the ones"},{"surface":"Fernes","lemma":"fern","morphology":"noun (substantivized adjective), accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on greifenden","gloss":"distance"},{"surface":"greifenden","lemma":"greifen","morphology":"verb, participle, substantivized, nominative, plural","role":"subject of verschwänden","gloss":"that grasp at","note":"Die + greifenden substantivizes the participle into a noun phrase, 'those who grasp' — it stands in apposition to sie (the hands) from the line before."},{"surface":"verschwänden","lemma":"verschwinden","morphology":"verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"were vanishing"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l10","source":"Und alles andre mit sich selbst verhängt","translation":"And all the rest entangled with itself","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l10.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"verhängt","title":"To drape or cover","body":"Verhängen means 'to drape, to hang over, to cover', as when a mirror is verhängt with cloth. Mit sich selbst verhängt means 'covered over with itself'. The word can also mean 'imposed, ordained', a secondary sense present alongside the literal one."}],"words":[{"surface":"Und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on verhängt","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"alles","lemma":"all","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"subject of verhängt","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"andre","lemma":"andere","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on alles","gloss":"the rest"},{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on verhängt","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, dative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"it-"},{"surface":"selbst","lemma":"selbst","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on sich","gloss":"-self"},{"surface":"verhängt","lemma":"verhängen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"predicate of alles andre (parallel to ausgelöscht, trüb–, next lines)","gloss":"entangled","note":"verhängen usually means 'to drape/impose'; here it is used figuratively for features grown tangled together."}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l11","source":"und ausgelöscht, als ob wirs nicht verständen,","translation":"and extinguished, as though we did not understand it,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l11.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"wirs","title":"Contraction of wir and es","body":"Wirs is a colloquial contraction of wir, 'we', and the clitic es, 'it', joined for the meter. The clause again uses als ob with the subjunctive, Konjunktiv II. Verständen is the subjunctive form of verstehen, 'to understand', so the phrase means 'as though we did not understand it'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"coordinates with verhängt (previous line)","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"ausgelöscht","lemma":"auslöschen","morphology":"verb, participle","role":"predicate of alles andre (parallel to verhängt)","gloss":"extinguished"},{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"with ob, introduces the clause wirs nicht verständen","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"ob","lemma":"ob","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on als","gloss":"though"},{"surface":"wirs","lemma":"wir","morphology":"pronoun (contraction of wir + es), nominative + accusative, plural + singular","role":"subject and object of verständen","gloss":"we it","note":"wirs is a poetic contraction of wir ('we') and the clitic es ('it'); the folded-in es is the object of verständen, matching 'it' in the translation."},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on verständen","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"verständen","lemma":"verstehen","morphology":"verb, past, subjunctive, first-person, plural","role":"main verb of the als-ob clause","gloss":"understood"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l12","source":"und tief aus seiner eignen Tiefe trüb–.","translation":"and dim, deep out of its own depth—.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s1-l12.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"seiner eignen Tiefe","title":"Own, and a repeated root","body":"Eigen means 'own, particular to itself'; eignen is its dative form. Tief, 'deep', appears beside its own noun Tiefe, 'depth', a repetition of the same root called figura etymologica. Trüb means 'cloudy, dim, murky'."}],"words":[{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"coordinates with ausgelöscht (previous line)","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"tief","lemma":"tief","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on aus","gloss":"deep"},{"surface":"aus","lemma":"aus","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on trüb","gloss":"out of"},{"surface":"seiner","lemma":"sein","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Tiefe","gloss":"its"},{"surface":"eignen","lemma":"eigen","morphology":"adjective, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Tiefe","gloss":"own"},{"surface":"Tiefe","lemma":"Tiefe","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on aus","gloss":"depth"},{"surface":"trüb–.","lemma":"trüb","morphology":"adjective, predicate (uninflected)","role":"predicate of alles andre, coordinated with ausgelöscht","gloss":"dim"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s2-l1","source":"Du schnell vergehendes Daguerreotyp","translation":"You swiftly fading daguerreotype","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"in apposition with Daguerreotyp (vocative address)","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"schnell","lemma":"schnell","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on vergehendes","gloss":"swiftly"},{"surface":"vergehendes","lemma":"vergehend","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Daguerreotyp","gloss":"fading"},{"surface":"Daguerreotyp","lemma":"daguerreotyp","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"daguerreotype"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s2-l2","source":"in meinen langsamer vergehenden Händen.","translation":"in my own more slowly fading hands.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"langsamer vergehenden","title":"Comparative adverb before participle","body":"Langsamer is the comparative of langsam, 'slow', meaning 'more slowly'. It modifies the participle vergehenden, 'fading, passing away', which agrees with the dative plural noun Händen, 'hands'."}],"words":[{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"meinen","lemma":"mein","morphology":"determiner, dative, plural","role":"depends on Händen","gloss":"my"},{"surface":"langsamer","lemma":"langsam","morphology":"adverb, comparative","role":"depends on vergehenden","gloss":"more slowly"},{"surface":"vergehenden","lemma":"vergehend","morphology":"adjective, dative, plural","role":"depends on Händen","gloss":"fading"},{"surface":"Händen","lemma":"Hand","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on in","gloss":"hands"}]}]}