# Leichenwäsche · Washing the Corpse

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

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

**1** Sie hatten sich an ihn gewöhnt. Doch als  
They had grown used to him. But when
> Reflexive verb sich gewöhnen with an: sich an etwas gewöhnen means 'to grow accustomed to something', and governs an plus accusative: an ihn means 'to him'. The perfect is hat sich gewöhnt; here it appears as hatten sich ... gewöhnt, 'had grown used to'.

**2** die Küchenlampe kam und unruhig brannte  
the kitchen lamp was brought and burned unsteadily

**3** im dunkeln Luftzug, war der Unbekannte  
in the dark draft, the stranger was
> Compound noun for a draft: Luftzug, from Luft, 'air', and Zug, 'draught', names a current of moving air, a draft. im dunkeln Luftzug means 'in the dark draft'; dunkeln is the old dative inflection of dunkel, 'dark'.

**4** ganz unbekannt. Sie wuschen seinen Hals,  
wholly unknown. They washed his neck,
> Noun and adjective from the same word: unbekannt means 'unknown, unfamiliar'; der Unbekannte is its nominalized form, 'the unknown man, the stranger', declined like an adjective. war der Unbekannte ganz unbekannt places the noun and adjective side by side: 'the stranger was wholly unknown'.


**5** und da sie nichts von seinem Schicksal wußten,  
and since they knew nothing of his fate,
> Causal da sends the verb to the end: da here is a causal conjunction, 'since, because', not the adverb 'there', and it sends the verb to the end of the clause: da sie nichts ... wußten. wußten is the simple past of wissen, 'to know', printed with the old ß, modern wussten.

**6** so logen sie ein anderes zusamm,  
they lied a different one together,
> Separable verb for making up a lie: zusammenlügen means 'to make up by lying, to cobble together a lie'. It is separable: in the simple past the prefix splits to the end, logen sie ... zusamm, with zusamm a clipped form of zusammen. logen is the past of lügen, 'to lie'.

**7** fortwährend waschend. Eine mußte husten  
washing all the while. One of them had to cough
> Bare present participle as adverbial: waschend is the present participle of waschen, 'to wash', used adverbially here to mean 'while washing'. fortwährend means 'continually, ceaselessly'. German freely hangs such a bare participle off the main clause to show an action running alongside.

**8** und ließ solang den schweren Essigschwamm  
and meanwhile let the heavy vinegar sponge
> Compound noun for a vinegar sponge: Essigschwamm joins Essig, 'vinegar', and Schwamm, 'sponge'. Vinegar was used to wash and disinfect a corpse. schwer, 'heavy', describes the sponge as sodden.


**9** auf dem Gesicht. Da gab es eine Pause  
rest on the face. Then there came a pause

**10** auch für die zweite. Aus der harten Bürste  
for the second one too. From the stiff brush

**11** klopften die Tropfen; während seine grause  
the drops knocked; while his ghastly,
> Elevated adjective for ghastly: graus, here inflected grause, is an elevated, poetic word for 'gruesome, ghastly', related to grausig and Grauen, 'dread'. It modifies Hand across the line break: seine grause ... Hand means 'his ghastly hand'.

**12** gekrampfte Hand dem ganzen Hause  
cramped hand wanted to prove to the whole house
> Dative object of beweisen: beweisen, 'to prove', takes a dative for the person shown something: dem ganzen Hause means 'to the whole household'. The -e on Hause is an old dative ending, now archaic or poetic.

**13** beweisen wollte, daß ihn nicht mehr dürste.  
that he no longer thirsted.
> Impersonal verb in reported speech: dürsten is impersonal with an accusative person: ihn dürstet means 'he is thirsty', literally 'it thirsts him'. dürste is Konjunktiv I, present subjunctive, used in reported speech after beweisen, daß, 'to prove that'.


**14** Und er bewies. Sie nahmen wie betreten  
And he proved it. As if abashed, they took
> Adjective distinct from its verb twin: As an adjective, betreten means 'embarrassed, abashed, disconcerted', distinct from the verb betreten, 'to step on'. wie betreten means 'as though abashed', describing how the women resumed their work.

**15** eiliger jetzt mit einem kurzen Huster  
the work up faster now, with one short cough,
> Noun for a single cough: Huster names one single cough, the act itself, as against Husten, coughing in general. mit einem kurzen Huster means 'with one short cough', echoing the cough that first interrupted the washing.

**16** die Arbeit auf, so daß an den Tapeten  
so that on the wallpaper
> Separable verb aufnehmen split by lines: die Arbeit aufnehmen means 'to take up, to resume the work'. aufnehmen is separable, and in the simple past its prefix auf lands at the end of the clause, here stretched across two lines: nahmen ... die Arbeit auf. so daß then opens a result clause meaning 'so that'.

**17** ihr krummer Schatten in dem stummen Muster  
their crooked shadow, in the silent pattern,


**18** sich wand und wälzte wie in einem Netze,  
writhed and rolled as in a net,
> Two reflexive verbs sharing one sich: sich winden, 'to twist, writhe', past wand, and sich wälzen, 'to roll, wallow', past wälzte, share the one reflexive sich. The subject is ihr krummer Schatten, 'their crooked shadow', from the line before.

**19** bis daß die Waschenden zu Ende kamen.  
until the washers came to an end.
> Present participle turned into a noun: die Waschenden is the present participle of waschen turned into a noun, 'the washing ones, the washers', declined like an adjective. bis daß means 'until', an older doubled form of modern bis. zu Ende kommen means 'to come to an end, to finish'.

**20** Die Nacht im vorhanglosen Fensterrahmen  
The night in the curtainless window frame
> Compound adjective with -los: vorhanglos joins Vorhang, 'curtain', with the suffix -los, 'without', giving 'curtainless'. Fensterrahmen means 'window frame'. im vorhanglosen Fensterrahmen means 'in the curtainless window frame'.

**21** war rücksichtslos. Und einer ohne Namen  
was pitiless. And one without a name
> Compound adjective with -los: rücksichtslos joins Rücksicht, 'consideration, regard for others', with -los, 'without', giving 'ruthless, without regard'. Said of the night, it means 'pitiless'. einer ohne Namen means 'one without a name'.

**22** lag bar und reinlich da und gab Gesetze.  
lay there bare and clean, and laid down laws.
> Fixed phrase for laying down laws: bar means 'bare, naked'; reinlich means 'clean, tidy'. Gesetze geben, literally 'to give laws', is a fixed phrase meaning 'to lay down the law, to dictate terms'.

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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.