{"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":"lied-vom-meer","title":{"source":"Lied vom Meer","translated":"Song of the Sea"},"section":"New Poems: The Other Part","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/lied-vom-meer","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/roemische-campagna","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/naechtliche-fahrt","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":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l1","source":"Uraltes Wehn vom Meer,","translation":"Age-old blowing from the sea,","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"uralt","title":"Ur- intensifies old","body":"uralt welds the intensifying prefix ur-, 'original, primal', onto alt, 'old': not merely old but 'age-old, immemorial'. das Wehn is a noun made from wehen, 'to blow', so uraltes Wehn vom Meer means 'age-old blowing off the sea'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Uraltes","lemma":"uralt","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Wehn","gloss":"age-old"},{"surface":"Wehn","lemma":"Wehn","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"blowing"},{"surface":"vom","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Wehn","gloss":"from"},{"surface":"Meer","lemma":"Meer","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on vom","gloss":"sea"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l2","source":"Meerwind bei Nacht:","translation":"sea-wind by night:","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Meerwind","title":"Compound noun, fused nouns","body":"Meer, 'sea', plus Wind, 'wind', gives Meerwind, 'sea-wind'. German fuses nouns into one word, the last element carrying the gender, here masculine der Wind. bei Nacht is the fixed phrase 'by night, at night'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Meerwind","lemma":"Meerwind","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"in apposition to Wehn (previous line)","gloss":"sea-wind"},{"surface":"bei","lemma":"bei","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Meerwind","gloss":"by"},{"surface":"Nacht","lemma":"Nacht","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on bei","gloss":"night"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l3","source":"du kommst zu keinem her;","translation":"you come to no one;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"kommst zu keinem her","title":"Separable verb split by dative phrase","body":"herkommen, 'to come here, toward the speaker', is separable: the prefix her- is flung to the line's end, du kommst her. zu keinem pairs zu, 'to', with keiner, 'no one'."}],"words":[{"surface":"du","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on kommst","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"kommst","lemma":"kommen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, second-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"come"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on kommst","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"keinem","lemma":"keiner","morphology":"pronoun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on zu","gloss":"no one"},{"surface":"her","lemma":"her","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on kommst","gloss":"here","note":"'zu jemandem herkommen' — her marks motion toward the person addressed."}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l4","source":"wenn einer wacht,","translation":"if someone lies awake,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"wenn einer wacht","title":"Wenn sends its verb to the end","body":"wenn, 'if, when', is a subordinating conjunction, so its verb wacht goes to the clause's end. einer is the indefinite pronoun 'someone'. wachen means 'to be awake, to lie awake', not wecken, 'to wake someone'."}],"words":[{"surface":"wenn","lemma":"wenn","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on wacht","gloss":"if"},{"surface":"einer","lemma":"einer","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on wacht","gloss":"someone"},{"surface":"wacht","lemma":"wachen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the wenn-clause","gloss":"lies awake"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l5","source":"so muß er sehn, wie er","translation":"then he must see how he","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l5.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"so muß er sehn","title":"So inverts subject and verb","body":"so opens the main clause answering the wenn-clause, 'if someone lies awake, then'. Because so fills the first slot, subject and verb invert, so muß er sehn, 'then he must see'. sehn is the clipped sehen."}],"words":[{"surface":"so","lemma":"so","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on muß","gloss":"then"},{"surface":"muß","lemma":"müssen","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"must"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on muß","gloss":"he"},{"surface":"sehn","lemma":"sehen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on muß","gloss":"see"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on übersteht (next line)","gloss":"how"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of übersteht (next line)","gloss":"he"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l6","source":"dich übersteht:","translation":"outlasts you:","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l6.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"übersteht","title":"Inseparable verb, fused prefix","body":"überstehen, 'to withstand, survive, get through', keeps its prefix über- fused even at the clause's end, wie er dich übersteht, 'how he gets through you'. The accusative dich, 'you', is the wind itself."}],"words":[{"surface":"dich","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on übersteht","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"übersteht","lemma":"überstehen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the wie-clause (wie er...übersteht)","gloss":"outlasts"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l7","source":"uraltes Wehn vom Meer,","translation":"age-old blowing from the sea,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l7.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"uraltes Wehn vom Meer","title":"The opening line returns","body":"Line one returns here word for word, a refrain folding the poem back on itself. das Wehn, neuter, takes the neuter ending -es, uraltes Wehn; vom fuses von dem, 'from the'. The relative clause welches weht grows out of it next."}],"words":[{"surface":"uraltes","lemma":"uralt","morphology":"adjective, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on Wehn","gloss":"age-old"},{"surface":"Wehn","lemma":"Wehn","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"antecedent of welches (next line)","gloss":"blowing"},{"surface":"vom","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Wehn","gloss":"from"},{"surface":"Meer","lemma":"Meer","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on vom","gloss":"sea"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l8","source":"welches weht","translation":"which blows","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l8.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"welches weht","title":"Relative pronoun, verb-final","body":"welches is a relative pronoun, the more literary alternative to das, agreeing with neuter das Wehn, meaning 'which'. As a relative clause its verb weht, from wehen, 'to blow', falls at the end."}],"words":[{"surface":"welches","lemma":"welcher","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on weht","gloss":"which"},{"surface":"weht","lemma":"wehen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the relative clause (welches weht)","gloss":"blows"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l9","source":"nur wie für Urgestein,","translation":"only as if for primal rock,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l9.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"nur wie für Urgestein","title":"Wie meaning as if","body":"wie here carries the sense 'as though', and für, 'for', always takes the accusative, für Urgestein, 'for primal rock'. Urgestein joins ur- to Gestein, 'rock, stone', naming the oldest bedrock of the earth."}],"words":[{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on weht (previous line)","gloss":"only"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on für, forms wie für","gloss":"as if"},{"surface":"für","lemma":"für","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on weht (previous line)","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"Urgestein","lemma":"Urgestein","morphology":"noun, accusative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on für","gloss":"primal rock"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l10","source":"lauter Raum","translation":"sheer space","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l10.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"lauter Raum","title":"Lauter means nothing but","body":"lauter here is not the comparative of laut, 'loud'. It is the invariable word lauter, meaning 'nothing but, pure, sheer'. lauter Raum means 'sheer space, nothing but space', in apposition to Wehn from an earlier line."}],"words":[{"surface":"lauter","lemma":"lauter","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Raum","gloss":"sheer"},{"surface":"Raum","lemma":"Raum","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"in apposition to Wehn (line 7)","gloss":"space"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"lied-vom-meer-s1-l11","source":"reißend von weit herein.","translation":"tearing in from far away.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s1-l11.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"reißend … herein","title":"Participle plus directional adverb","body":"reißend is the present participle of reißen, 'to tear, rush', used adverbially, 'tearing'. herein joins her-, toward the speaker, with -ein, 'inward', meaning 'in, inward'. von weit means 'from far off'."}],"words":[{"surface":"reißend","lemma":"reißend","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies Raum (previous line)","gloss":"tearing"},{"surface":"von","lemma":"von","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on reißend","gloss":"from"},{"surface":"weit","lemma":"weit","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on von","gloss":"far"},{"surface":"herein","lemma":"herein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on reißend","gloss":"in"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"lied-vom-meer-s2-l1","source":"O wie fühlt dich ein","translation":"Oh, how a drifting fig tree","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"O wie fühlt dich ein","title":"Wie opens the clause, verb first","body":"Because wie, 'how', opens this clause, the verb precedes its subject, fühlt ein treibender Feigenbaum. The accusative dich, 'you', is again the wind, the object felt. The subject runs on into the next line."}],"words":[{"surface":"O","lemma":"o","morphology":"interjection","role":"depends on fühlt","gloss":"oh"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on fühlt","gloss":"how"},{"surface":"fühlt","lemma":"fühlen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"feels"},{"surface":"dich","lemma":"du","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular","role":"depends on fühlt","gloss":"you"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Feigenbaum (next line)","gloss":"a"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"lied-vom-meer-s2-l2","source":"treibender Feigenbaum","translation":"feels you,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"treibender Feigenbaum","title":"One verb with two meanings","body":"Feigenbaum joins Feige, 'fig', and Baum, 'tree': 'fig tree'. treibend is the present participle of treiben, a verb meaning both 'to drive, to drift' and, of a plant, 'to sprout, put forth shoots'. Both senses sound together here."}],"words":[{"surface":"treibender","lemma":"treibend","morphology":"adjective, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Feigenbaum","gloss":"drifting"},{"surface":"Feigenbaum","lemma":"Feigenbaum","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of fühlt (previous line)","gloss":"fig tree"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"lied-vom-meer-s2-l3","source":"oben im Mondschein.","translation":"high up in the moonlight.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/lied-vom-meer-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"oben im Mondschein","title":"Adverb plus a compound noun","body":"oben is the adverb 'up there, above'. Mondschein joins Mond, 'moon', and Schein, 'shine', giving 'moonlight'; im fuses in dem, 'in the', with the dative for rest. oben im Mondschein means 'high up in the moonlight'."}],"words":[{"surface":"oben","lemma":"oben","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on im","gloss":"up high"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on fühlt (line 1)","gloss":"in the"},{"surface":"Mondschein","lemma":"Mondschein","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"moonlight"}]}]}