# Jugendbildnis meines Vaters · Portrait of My Father as a Young Man

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/jugendbildnis-meines-vaters.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Im Auge Traum. Die Stirn wie in Berührung  
Dream in the eye. The brow as if in touch
> Contraction of in and dem: 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'.

**2** mit etwas Fernem. Um den Mund enorm  
with something far away. About the mouth, enormous
> Adjective as noun after etwas: 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'.

**3** viel Jugend, ungelächelte Verführung,  
much youth, an unsmiled seduction,
> A coined negated participle: 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.

**4** und vor der vollen schmückenden Verschnürung  
and before the full ornamenting lacing
> Present participle used as adjective: 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.

**5** der schlanken adeligen Uniform  
of the slim aristocratic uniform
> Adjective meaning noble: 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.

**6** der Säbelkorb und beide Hände–, die  
the sabre-guard and both the hands—, that
> A compound noun for equipment: 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'.

**7** abwarten, ruhig, zu nichts hingedrängt.  
wait, calm, pressed toward nothing.
> Separable prefix in a participle: 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'.

**8** Und nun fast nicht mehr sichtbar: als ob sie  
And now almost no longer visible: as though they
> A phrase that triggers subjunctive: 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.

**9** zuerst, die Fernes greifenden, verschwänden.  
first, the ones that grasp at distance, were vanishing.
> Participle used as a noun: 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'.

**10** Und alles andre mit sich selbst verhängt  
And all the rest entangled with itself
> To drape or cover: 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.

**11** und ausgelöscht, als ob wirs nicht verständen,  
and extinguished, as though we did not understand it,
> Contraction of wir and es: 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'.

**12** und tief aus seiner eignen Tiefe trüb–.  
and dim, deep out of its own depth—.
> Own, and a repeated root: 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'.


**13** Du schnell vergehendes Daguerreotyp  
You swiftly fading daguerreotype

**14** in meinen langsamer vergehenden Händen.  
in my own more slowly fading hands.
> Comparative adverb before participle: 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'.

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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.