{"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":"morgue","title":{"source":"Morgue","translated":"The Morgue"},"section":"New Poems","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/morgue","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/gott-im-mittelalter","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/der-gefangene","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":"morgue-s1-l1","source":"Da liegen sie bereit, als ob es gälte,","translation":"There they lie ready, as though the task remained","stanza":1,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s1-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"gälte","title":"Past subjunctive of gelten","body":"gälte is the Konjunktiv II, or past subjunctive, form of gelten, 'to be at stake, to be a matter of'. The impersonal phrase es gälte, etwas zu tun means 'as though it were a matter of doing something'. The conjunction als ob, meaning 'as though', requires this subjunctive form."}],"words":[{"surface":"Da","lemma":"da","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on liegen","gloss":"There"},{"surface":"liegen","lemma":"liegen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"lie"},{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, plural","role":"depends on liegen","gloss":"they"},{"surface":"bereit","lemma":"bereit","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on liegen","gloss":"ready"},{"surface":"als","lemma":"als","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on gälte","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"ob","lemma":"ob","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"depends on gälte","gloss":"though"},{"surface":"es","lemma":"es","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on gälte","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"gälte","lemma":"gelten","morphology":"verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"depends on bereit","gloss":"were necessary"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"morgue-s1-l2","source":"nachträglich eine Handlung zu erfinden,","translation":"to invent, after the fact, some single act","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s1-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"nachträglich","title":"After the fact, belatedly","body":"nachträglich means 'after the fact, belatedly, in retrospect', formed from nachtragen, 'to carry after, to add later'. It depends on the infinitive erfinden, 'to invent', describing when the inventing would happen. eine Handlung, 'an act', is the object of erfinden."}],"words":[{"surface":"nachträglich","lemma":"nachträglich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on erfinden","gloss":"after the fact"},{"surface":"eine","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Handlung","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Handlung","lemma":"Handlung","morphology":"noun, accusative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on erfinden","gloss":"act"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on erfinden","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"erfinden","lemma":"erfinden","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"invent"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"morgue-s1-l3","source":"die miteinander und mit dieser Kälte","translation":"that might know how to bind them, each to each","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s1-l3.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, feminine, singular","role":"subject of weiß","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"miteinander","lemma":"miteinander","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on versöhnen","gloss":"with each other"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on miteinander","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"mit","lemma":"mit","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on und","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"dieser","lemma":"dieser","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on Kälte","gloss":"this"},{"surface":"Kälte","lemma":"Kälte","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, singular","role":"depends on mit","gloss":"cold"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"morgue-s1-l4","source":"sie zu versöhnen weiß und zu verbinden;","translation":"and to this cold, and reconcile them all;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s1-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"zu versöhnen weiß und zu verbinden","title":"wissen zu plus infinitive","body":"wissen zu plus an infinitive means 'to know how to do something'. Here weiß, from wissen, sits inside a relative clause while two zu infinitives, versöhnen and verbinden, frame it: 'that knows how to reconcile and to bind them'. Sie, 'them', is the shared object of both infinitives."}],"words":[{"surface":"sie","lemma":"sie","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural","role":"depends on versöhnen","gloss":"them"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on versöhnen","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"versöhnen","lemma":"versöhnen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"reconcile"},{"surface":"weiß","lemma":"wissen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"knows how"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on weiß","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"zu","lemma":"zu","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on verbinden","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"verbinden","lemma":"verbinden","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on und","gloss":"bind"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"morgue-s2-l1","source":"denn das ist alles noch wie ohne Schluß.","translation":"for all of this is still as if unclosed.","stanza":2,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s2-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Schluß","title":"Old spelling of an ending noun","body":"Schluß, spelled Schluss in modern German, means 'end, close, conclusion'. wie ohne Schluß means 'as though without an ending'. The word is printed with the older ß after a short vowel, matching Rilke's original spelling rather than the post-1996 rule."}],"words":[{"surface":"denn","lemma":"denn","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"das","lemma":"der","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"this"},{"surface":"ist","lemma":"sein","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"alles","lemma":"alle","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on das","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"noch","lemma":"noch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"still"},{"surface":"wie","lemma":"wie","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ohne","gloss":"as"},{"surface":"ohne","lemma":"ohne","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ist","gloss":"without"},{"surface":"Schluß","lemma":"Schluß","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on ohne","gloss":"end"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"morgue-s2-l2","source":"Was für ein Name hätte in den Taschen","translation":"What sort of name should have been found inside","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s2-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Was für ein Name","title":"Asking what kind of","body":"was für ein means 'what kind of, what sort of'. The preposition für does not set the case here; instead the case of the following noun depends on its role in the sentence. Name is the subject of the clause, so it stays in the nominative case."}],"words":[{"surface":"Was","lemma":"was","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, neuter, singular","role":"depends on hätte","gloss":"What"},{"surface":"für","lemma":"für","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on Was","gloss":"kind of"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Name","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"Name","lemma":"Name","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"subject of hätte","gloss":"name"},{"surface":"hätte","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, subjunctive, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"should have"},{"surface":"in","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on hätte","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"den","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on Taschen","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Taschen","lemma":"Tasche","morphology":"noun, dative, feminine, plural","role":"depends on in","gloss":"pockets"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"morgue-s2-l3","source":"sich finden sollen? An dem Überdruß","translation":"their pockets? At the weariness that ringed","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s2-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Überdruß","title":"A noun for weariness","body":"Überdruß, spelled Überdruss in modern German, means 'surfeit, weariness', the disgust of having had too much. It stands in the dative after the preposition an, 'at'. The related adjective überdrüssig sein means 'to be sick of' something."}],"words":[{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, singular, reflexive","role":"depends on finden","gloss":"itself"},{"surface":"finden","lemma":"finden","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on sollen","gloss":"be found"},{"surface":"sollen","lemma":"sollen","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"depends on hätte","gloss":"ought"},{"surface":"An","lemma":"an","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on herumgewaschen","gloss":"At"},{"surface":"dem","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Überdruß","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Überdruß","lemma":"Überdruß","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on An","gloss":"weariness"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"morgue-s2-l4","source":"um ihren Mund hat man herumgewaschen;","translation":"their mouths, the washing went round and around;","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s2-l4.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"hat man herumgewaschen","title":"Man as an impersonal subject","body":"man is an impersonal subject meaning 'one, they, people', used when the doer is left unnamed. herumwaschen fuses the separable prefix herum-, 'round about', with waschen, 'to wash'; its perfect tense is hat herumgewaschen. Um ihren Mund, 'around their mouth', names the area that was washed."}],"words":[{"surface":"um","lemma":"um","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on herumgewaschen","gloss":"around"},{"surface":"ihren","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on Mund","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Mund","lemma":"Mund","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on um","gloss":"mouth"},{"surface":"hat","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"has"},{"surface":"man","lemma":"man","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, singular","role":"depends on hat","gloss":"one"},{"surface":"herumgewaschen","lemma":"herumwaschen","morphology":"verb, participle, past","role":"depends on hat","gloss":"washed round"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"morgue-s3-l1","source":"er ging nicht ab; er wurde nur ganz rein.","translation":"it would not come off; it only grew quite clean.","stanza":3,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s3-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"ging … ab","title":"A separable verb splits apart","body":"abgehen is a separable verb that here means '(of a mark) to come off, wash out'. In the simple past the prefix ab splits from ging and moves to the end of the clause, so er ging nicht ab means 'it would not come off'. er refers back to a noun named earlier in the poem."}],"words":[{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on ging","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"ging","lemma":"gehen","morphology":"verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"went"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on ging","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"ab","lemma":"ab","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ging","gloss":"off"},{"surface":"er","lemma":"er","morphology":"pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on wurde","gloss":"it"},{"surface":"wurde","lemma":"werden","morphology":"auxiliary verb, past, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"grew"},{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on rein","gloss":"only"},{"surface":"ganz","lemma":"ganz","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on rein","gloss":"quite"},{"surface":"rein","lemma":"rein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on wurde","gloss":"clean"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"morgue-s3-l2","source":"Die Bärte stehen, noch ein wenig härter,","translation":"The beards stand stiff, a little harsher now,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s3-l2.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Die Bärte stehen","title":"Stehen used of hair","body":"Bart, plural Bärte, means 'beard'. stehen usually means 'to stand', but here it describes hair standing up stiff. noch ein wenig härter means 'a little harder still', using härter, the comparative form of hart, 'hard'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Bärte","gloss":"The"},{"surface":"Bärte","lemma":"Bart","morphology":"noun, nominative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on stehen","gloss":"beards"},{"surface":"stehen","lemma":"stehen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"stand"},{"surface":"noch","lemma":"noch","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on härter","gloss":"still"},{"surface":"ein","lemma":"ein","morphology":"determiner","role":"depends on wenig","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"wenig","lemma":"wenig","morphology":"pronoun","role":"depends on härter","gloss":"little"},{"surface":"härter","lemma":"hart","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on stehen","gloss":"harsher"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"morgue-s3-l3","source":"doch ordentlicher im Geschmack der Wärter,","translation":"yet tidier, to suit the keepers' taste,","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s3-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"im Geschmack der Wärter","title":"Taste and the word for keepers","body":"Geschmack means 'taste', both the physical sense and an aesthetic preference; im Geschmack der Wärter means 'to the taste of the keepers'. Wärter, from warten, 'to tend, to watch over', names the people who look after the morgue. der Wärter is genitive plural, depending on Geschmack."}],"words":[{"surface":"doch","lemma":"doch","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on ordentlicher","gloss":"yet"},{"surface":"ordentlicher","lemma":"ordentlich","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on stehen","gloss":"tidier"},{"surface":"im","lemma":"in","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on ordentlicher","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"Geschmack","lemma":"Geschmack","morphology":"noun, dative, masculine, singular","role":"depends on im","gloss":"taste"},{"surface":"der","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Wärter","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"Wärter","lemma":"Wärter","morphology":"noun, genitive, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Geschmack","gloss":"keepers'"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"morgue-s4-l1","source":"nur um die Gaffenden nicht anzuwidern.","translation":"only so as not to revolt the gaping crowd.","stanza":4,"audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s4-l1.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"um … nicht anzuwidern","title":"Purpose clause with a separable verb","body":"um … zu plus an infinitive expresses purpose, 'in order to'. Because anwidern, 'to revolt, disgust someone', is separable, zu is inserted between its prefix an- and the stem, giving anzuwidern. Die Gaffenden is a nominalized participle from gaffen, 'to gawk', meaning 'the gaping ones'."}],"words":[{"surface":"nur","lemma":"nur","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on um","gloss":"only"},{"surface":"um","lemma":"um","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on anzuwidern","gloss":"so as"},{"surface":"die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, accusative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on Gaffenden","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Gaffenden","lemma":"Gaffende","morphology":"noun, accusative, masculine, plural","role":"depends on anzuwidern","gloss":"gaping crowd"},{"surface":"nicht","lemma":"nicht","morphology":"particle","role":"depends on anzuwidern","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"anzuwidern","lemma":"anwidern","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"revolt"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"morgue-s4-l2","source":"Die Augen haben hinter ihren Lidern","translation":"The eyes, behind their lids, have turned themselves","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s4-l2.m4a","notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Die","lemma":"der","morphology":"determiner, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Augen","gloss":"The"},{"surface":"Augen","lemma":"Auge","morphology":"noun, nominative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on haben","gloss":"eyes"},{"surface":"haben","lemma":"haben","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"have"},{"surface":"hinter","lemma":"hinter","morphology":"preposition","role":"depends on umgewandt","gloss":"behind"},{"surface":"ihren","lemma":"ihr","morphology":"determiner, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on Lidern","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"Lidern","lemma":"Lid","morphology":"noun, dative, neuter, plural","role":"depends on hinter","gloss":"lids"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"morgue-s4-l3","source":"sich umgewandt und schauen jetzt hinein.","translation":"around, and now they gaze the other way — within.","audio":"https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/morgue-s4-l3.m4a","notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"sich umgewandt … schauen … hinein","title":"A reflexive verb and a direction word","body":"sich umwenden, 'to turn oneself around', is a reflexive separable verb whose perfect participle is umgewandt. The reflexive pronoun sich and the participle umgewandt belong together even though a line break falls between them. hinein means 'inward, into there', so schauen jetzt hinein means 'now gaze inward'."}],"words":[{"surface":"sich","lemma":"sich","morphology":"pronoun, accusative, plural, reflexive","role":"depends on umgewandt","gloss":"themselves"},{"surface":"umgewandt","lemma":"umwenden","morphology":"verb, participle, past","role":"depends on haben","gloss":"turned"},{"surface":"und","lemma":"und","morphology":"conjunction","role":"depends on haben","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"schauen","lemma":"schauen","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"depends on und","gloss":"gaze"},{"surface":"jetzt","lemma":"jetzt","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on schauen","gloss":"now"},{"surface":"hinein","lemma":"hinein","morphology":"adverb","role":"depends on schauen","gloss":"within"}]}]}