German · New Poems: The Other Part

Kretische Artemis

Cretan Artemis

14 lines · 20 notes

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1
Wind of the headlands: was not her
WindwindWind · noun, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on war
derof theder · determiner, genitive, neuter, pluraldepends on Vorgebirge
VorgebirgeheadlandsVorgebirge · noun, genitive, neuter, pluraldepends on Wind
warwassein · auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
nichtnotnicht · particledepends on war
ihreherihr · determiner, nominative, feminine, singulardepends on Stirne (s1-l2)
WordCompound word for headland Vorgebirge is a headland or promontory, literally 'fore-mountain', from vor-, 'before, in front of', plus Gebirge, 'mountain range'. Here it is genitive plural, der Vorgebirge, 'of the headlands', depending on Wind.
GrammarA negated question war nicht ihre ... ? is a negated question, formed the same way as in English: war, 'was', plus nicht, 'not'. The sentence runs on past the line break into Stirne in the next line, so the subject and predicate noun are separated by enjambment.
2
brow like a luminous object?
WordLicht means bright licht is an adjective meaning 'bright, luminous', related to the noun Licht, 'light'. It is distinct from leicht, 'light in weight', which appears nearby. lichter takes the nominative masculine singular ending before Gegenstand, 'object'.
3
Smooth headwind of the light-footed animals,
WordCompound word for headwind Gegenwind is a headwind, built from gegen-, 'against, counter to', plus Wind. It is nominative singular here, head of the phrase glatter Gegenwind der leichten Tiere, 'smooth headwind of the light-footed animals'.
GrammarGenitive plural after Gegenwind der leichten Tiere is genitive plural, 'of the light-footed animals', depending on Gegenwind. The adjective leichten takes the weak ending -en because it follows the genitive article der, matching the genitive neuter plural noun Tiere.
4
did you form her: her garment
GrammarSecond person past tense formtest is the preterite of formen, 'to form, shape', second person singular. The subject du addresses the wind directly as 'you': formtest du sie, 'did you form her'. sie is the accusative object, referring to the goddess.
5
shaping against her unconscious breasts
GrammarPresent participle continues the verb bildend, 'shaping', is the present participle of bilden and depends on the earlier formtest, continuing that action across the line break. an die unbewußten Brüste is accusative after an, marking motion or pressure against a surface.
WordUnbewußt means unaware unbewußt means 'unconscious, unaware', taking the accusative feminine plural ending -en before Brüste. The old spelling with ß corresponds to modern unbewusst.
6
like a shifting premonition?
WordCompound noun for premonition Vorgefühl is 'premonition, foreboding', literally 'fore-feeling', from vor-, 'before', plus Gefühl, 'feeling'. wechselvolles, 'shifting, full of change', takes the nominative neuter singular ending before it.
7
While she, as though she knew everything,
GrammarAls ob plus subjunctive als ob means 'as though' and takes the subjunctive: wüßte is Konjunktiv II of wissen, 'to know', so als ob sie alles wüßte means 'as though she knew everything'. Old spelling wüßte corresponds to modern wüsste.
8
off toward the farthest distance, girt-up and cool,
GrammarAuf and zu frame the noun auf ... zu is a two-part construction meaning 'toward, in the direction of', with the noun phrase placed inside it: auf das Fernste zu, 'toward the farthest point'. das Fernste is a superlative adjective used as a noun, 'the most distant thing'.
WordPast participle of schürzen geschürzt is the past participle of schürzen, 'to tuck up, gird up' a garment, as a runner hitches up a skirt at the belt. It functions as a predicate adjective describing sie from the previous line, paired with kühl, 'cool'.
9
stormed on with the nymphs and the hounds,
GrammarThe delayed main verb arrives stürmte, 'stormed on, rushed', is the preterite of stürmen and is the main verb of the während-clause begun several lines earlier, held back by German subordinate word order. mit takes the dative: mit den Nymphen und den Hunden, 'with the nymphs and the hounds'.
10
trying out her bow, bound fast
WordThe archer’s weapon der Bogen is 'the bow', the archer's weapon here, though the word can also mean an arch or a sheet of paper. probend, 'trying out', is the present participle of proben, depending on the earlier main verb stürmte.
WordPast participle of einbinden eingebunden is the past participle of the separable verb einbinden, 'to bind in, fasten into', prefix ein- plus binden, 'to bind'. It depends on stürmte and reaches across the line break to in den harten hohen Gurt, 'into the hard, high belt'.
11
into the hard, high belt;
GrammarAccusative after in for direction in den harten hohen Gurt is accusative because eingebunden in expresses motion into something, not static location. Masculine der Gurt becomes den Gurt, and the adjectives harten and hohen take the weak accusative ending -en.
12
only now and then, from foreign settlements,
WordPlural noun for settlements die Siedelung, here plural Siedelungen, is 'settlement', a place where people have settled, an older spelling of modern Siedlung. It is dative plural after aus, depending on fremden, 'foreign'.
13
called upon, and, angered, overcome
GrammarPast participle of anrufen angerufen is the past participle of the separable verb anrufen, 'to call upon, invoke'. The prefix an- splits off in finite forms but stays attached in the participle. It is passive in sense, coordinated with the following bezwungen.
WordTwo coordinated participles erzürnt, 'angered', comes from erzürnen, related to Zorn, 'wrath'. bezwungen is the past participle of bezwingen, 'to conquer, subdue, master'. The two stand side by side as coordinated participles: 'angered, overcome'.
14
by the crying out for birth.
GrammarVon plus dative names the agent In a passive construction, von plus dative names who or what performs the action: bezwungen von dem Schreien, 'overcome by the crying out'. das Schreien is the infinitive schreien, 'to scream', used as a noun. um Geburt means 'for birth'.

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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