# San Marco · San Marco

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

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

**1** In diesem Innern, das wie ausgehöhlt  
In this interior, which as if hollowed out
> An adjective used as a noun: das Innere, 'the interior, the inside', is the adjective inner turned into a neuter noun, so it still takes adjective endings. After the dative in diesem it becomes in diesem Innern, 'in this interior'.
> Hollowed out: Past participle of the separable verb aushöhlen, 'to hollow out, scoop out', from hohl, 'hollow'. wie ausgehöhlt means 'as though hollowed out', a cavity carved into a mass rather than built up from parts.

**2** sich wölbt und wendet in die goldnen Smalten,  
vaults and turns itself into the golden mosaics,
> To arch, to vault: The reflexive sich wölben means 'to arch, to curve, to form a vault', from die Wölbung, 'the vault, the dome'. It is paired here with sich wendet, 'turns itself'.
> The mosaic glass: die Smalte, here plural Smalten, is smalt, the small cubes of colored, gold-backed glass, tesserae, used to set Byzantine mosaics. The upper interior of San Marco is sheathed in this gold smalt.

**3** rundkantig, glatt, mit Köstlichkeit geölt,  
round-edged, smooth, oiled with preciousness,
> Softened, rounded edges: A compound of rund, 'round', and die Kante, 'edge': 'with rounded edges'. It names how the worn marble and mosaic have no sharp corners; every surface is smoothed.

**4** ward dieses Staates Dunkelheit gehalten  
this State's darkness was held
> Archaic past of werden: ward is the old, poetic simple past of werden, 'to become', now usually wurde. With the participle gehalten it forms a passive: ward … gehalten, 'was held'.
> A fronted genitive phrase: dieses Staates is the genitive of der Staat, 'the State', placed before its noun: dieses Staates Dunkelheit, 'this State's darkness'. Plain prose would say die Dunkelheit dieses Staates.


**5** und heimlich aufgehäuft, als Gleichgewicht  
and secretly heaped up, as a counterweight
> Separable verb aufhäufen: aufgehäuft is the past participle of the separable verb aufhäufen, 'to heap up, pile up, amass', from der Haufen, 'heap'. It continues the passive: ward … gehalten und … aufgehäuft, 'was held and heaped up'.
> Balance, counterweight: das Gleichgewicht, 'equilibrium, balance', literally 'equal-weight', here names a counterpoise: das Gleichgewicht des Lichtes, the weight set against the light. The genitive des Lichtes continues into the next line.

**6** des Lichtes, das in allen seinen Dingen  
of the light, which in all its things

**7** sich so vermehrte, daß sie fast vergingen.  
so multiplied that they almost passed away.
> To multiply, to increase: The reflexive sich vermehren means 'to multiply, to increase, to proliferate'. vermehrte sich so means 'multiplied itself so much', governing the daß-clause that names the result in the next line.
> Past tense of vergehen: vergingen is the simple past of vergehen, 'to pass away, vanish, fade'. daß sie fast vergingen means 'so that they nearly passed away'; the subject sie is all the light's things.

**8** Und plötzlich zweifelst du: vergehn sie nicht?  
And suddenly you doubt: are they not passing away?
> The shift to second person: zweifeln means 'to doubt, to be unsure': zweifelst du, 'you doubt'. The clause turns from describing the church to addressing a du, 'you'. vergehn sie nicht? means 'are they not vanishing?'.


**9** und drängst zurück die harte Galerie,  
and you push back the hard gallery,
> Separable verb zurückdrängen: drängst … zurück is the present tense of the separable verb zurückdrängen, 'to push back, force back', with the prefix zurück- placed after the object. Its object is die harte Galerie, the hard gallery.

**10** die wie ein Gang im Bergwerk nah am Glanz  
which, like a passage in a mine, near the gleam
> A mine shaft: der Gang here is a passage or gallery; das Bergwerk is a mine. ein Gang im Bergwerk means 'a passage in a mine', a tunnel modifying die Galerie.

**11** der Wölbung hängt; und du erkennst die heile  
of the vault hangs; and you recognize the whole
> Whole, unbroken: heil means 'whole, intact, sound, unhurt', the root of heilen, 'to heal'. die heile Helle des Ausblicks means 'the whole, unbroken brightness of the view', with Helle waiting in the next stanza.


**12** Helle des Ausblicks: aber irgendwie  
brightness of the view out: but somehow
> The view out: der Ausblick is the view or outlook, from ausblicken, 'to look out'. Helle des Ausblicks means 'brightness of the view out'. aber irgendwie, 'but somehow', opens the sentence that follows the colon.

**13** wehmütig messend ihre müde Weile  
wistfully measuring its weary while
> Wistful, melancholy: wehmütig means 'wistful, melancholy, mournful', from das Weh, 'woe', and der Mut, 'spirit'. It modifies messend, 'measuring', describing how ihre müde Weile, 'its weary while', is measured.
> A while, a span: die Weile is 'a while, a span of time', as in eine Weile, 'for a while'. ihre müde Weile means 'its weary while'; messend is the present participle of messen, 'to measure'.

**14** am nahen Überstehn des Viergespanns.  
against the near outlasting of the four-horse team.
> Enduring, outlasting: das Überstehn is the noun formed from überstehen, 'to survive, endure, outlast', and also literally 'to stand over'. am nahen Überstehn des Viergespanns means 'against the near outlasting of the four-horse team'.

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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.