German · New Poems: The Other Part

Klage um Antinous

Lament for Antinous

12 lines · 16 notes

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1
None of you grasped for me the Bithynian boy
Keinernonekeiner · pronoun, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on begriff
begriffgraspedbegreifen · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
mirfor meich · pronoun, dative, singulardepends on begriff
vonofvon · prepositiondepends on begriff
euchyouihr · pronoun, dative, pluraldepends on von
dentheder · determiner, accusative, masculine, singulardepends on Knaben
bithynischenBithynianbithynisch · adjective, accusative, masculine, singulardepends on Knaben
KnabenboyKnabe · noun, accusative, masculine, singulardepends on begriff
GrammarAn emotionally involved dative Begriff is the simple past of begreifen, 'to grasp, to comprehend'. The mir here is not the direct object of the verb but an ethical dative, an added 'for me, on my behalf' that places the speaker inside the action.
2
(that you might lay hold of the river and lift him from it...).
GrammarA separable verb, subjunctive Anfaßtet comes from the separable verb anfassen, 'to take hold of, to grasp', with the prefix an- rejoined in this finite form. Following daß, it reads as an unreal wish: 'that you might take hold of the stream'.
GrammarAn old form of heben Hübt is an archaic Konjunktiv II form of the strong verb heben, 'to lift, to raise'; modern German would write höbe. Paired with anfaßtet, it completes the unreal wish: und von ihm hübt, 'and might lift him from it'.
3
True, I indulged him. And yet: we have
WordTo spoil or indulge Verwöhnte is the simple past of verwöhnen, 'to spoil, to indulge, to pamper'. Zwar concedes a point, 'admittedly, it is true', and is answered here by dennoch, 'and yet', in the same line.
4
only filled him with heaviness and clouded him forever.
WordWeight or heaviness Die Schwere means 'heaviness, weight, gravity', from the adjective schwer, 'heavy'. Mit Schwere erfüllt means 'filled with heaviness'; mit takes the dative, and erfüllt is the past participle of erfüllen, 'to fill'.
WordClouded or dimmed Getrübt is the past participle of trüben, 'to cloud, to dim, to make turbid', used of water losing its clearness or a light growing dull. Für immer getrübt means 'clouded forever', paired here with mit Schwere erfüllt, 'filled with heaviness'.
5
Who, then, is able to love? Who can?—No one yet.
GrammarVermögen plus an infinitive Vermag is the present tense of vermögen, a formal verb meaning 'to be able to, to have the power to'; it takes zu plus an infinitive, so vermag zu lieben means 'is able to love'. The question is then restated plainly as Wer kann es, 'who can do it'.
6
And so I have done endless harm—.
WordTo cause pain Weh tun, sometimes written wehtun, means 'to hurt, to cause pain', built on das Weh, 'woe, ache'. Ich habe Weh getan means 'I have caused pain', and unendliches Weh raises it to 'endless hurt' or 'infinite harm'.
7
Now by the Nile he is one of the assuaging gods,
WordTo soothe or quiet Stillend is the present participle of stillen, 'to soothe, to quiet, to assuage', as of a thirst or pain. Der stillenden Götter einer means 'one of the soothing gods', with the genitive plural phrase placed before einer, 'one'.
8
and I scarcely know which one, and cannot draw near to him.
GrammarA shortened poetic verb Nahn is the shortened, poetic form of nahen, 'to approach, to draw near', cut to fit the verse line. It takes a dative object, so kann ihm nicht nahn means 'cannot draw near to him'.
9
And you flung him even up among the stars, you madmen,
GrammarPast tense of werfen Warfet is the simple past, second person plural, of the strong verb werfen, 'to throw, to fling': 'you flung'. Bis in die Sterne means 'all the way up into the stars', marking the far endpoint of the throw.
WordMadmen or the insane Wahnsinnige means 'madmen, the insane', from der Wahnsinn, 'madness'. It stands in apposition as a form of direct address, so the sentence calls its addressees 'you madmen' alongside the main statement.
10
so that I would call to you and press you: do you mean that one?
GrammarA purpose clause Damit means 'so that, in order that' and, as a subordinating conjunction, sends its verbs to the clause's end: damit ich euch rufe und dränge means 'so that I call to you and press you'. Dränge comes from drängen, 'to press, to urge'.
11
Why is he not simply a dead man. He would gladly be.
GrammarWas used to mean why Here was is used in an older sense equivalent to warum, 'why, for what reason'. Was ist er nicht einfach ein Toter means 'why is he not simply a dead man'. Ein Toter is a nominalized adjective meaning 'a dead man'.
GrammarAn unreal wish, subjunctive Wäre is the Konjunktiv II of sein, 'to be', meaning 'would be'. Es stands in for ein Toter, 'a dead man', and gerne means 'gladly', so er wäre es gerne means 'he would gladly be one'. The subjunctive marks this as unreal.
12
And perhaps nothing would have happened to him.
GrammarPast subjunctive with sein Wäre geschehn is the past Konjunktiv II of geschehen, 'to happen, to befall', shortened from geschehen for the verse; this verb forms its perfect tenses with sein. Ihm is the dative of the person affected, so wäre ihm nichts geschehn means 'nothing would have happened to him'.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems: The Other Part.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
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