German · New Poems

Sankt Sebastian

Saint Sebastian

13 lines · 13 notes

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1
Like one lying down he stands; wholly
Wielikewie · subordinating conjunctiondepends on steht
einaein · determiner, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on Liegender
Liegenderone lying downLiegender · noun, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on Wie
German capitalizes and inflects participles as nouns like this: 'Liegender' = 'a lying one.'
sothusso · adverbdepends on steht
stehtstandsstehen · verb, present, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
erheer · pronoun, nominative, masculine, singularsubject of steht
ganzwhollyganz · adverbdepends on hingehalten (next line)
GrammarA participle used as a noun liegend, 'lying', is the present participle of liegen, 'to lie down'. Capitalized and given an article, it becomes a noun: ein Liegender, 'one who lies down'. Wie ein Liegender compares his standing posture to that of a man stretched out flat.
2
held out to the great will.
WordPast participle of a separable verb hingehalten is the past participle of the separable verb hinhalten, 'to hold something out toward'. Applied to the saint, hingehalten von dem großen Willen means 'held out by the great will', with von naming the will as the one doing the holding.
3
Far removed, like mothers when they nurse,
WordCarried out of oneself entrückt is the past participle of entrücken, 'to carry away, transport'; it describes a rapt, absent state lifted out of the ordinary world. weit entrückt means 'far removed, far carried away'. stillen here means 'to nurse, suckle'.
4
and bound into himself like a wreath.
GrammarA reflexive phrase with gebunden gebunden is the past participle of binden, 'to bind, tie'. The reflexive phrase in sich gebunden means 'bound into, within himself'. wie ein Kranz, 'like a wreath', completes the comparison: a wreath is woven shut with no loose end.
5
And the arrows come: now and now
WordRepeated adverb for rhythm der Pfeil, plural die Pfeile, means 'arrow(s)'. jetzt und jetzt, 'now and now', doubles the adverb jetzt, not a standard idiom, to mark one arrow striking after another.
6
and as though they sprang from his own loins,
Grammarals plus subjunctive for an unreal comparison sprängen is the past subjunctive, Konjunktiv II, of springen, 'to spring, leap'. After als, 'as though', introducing an unreal comparison, German uses the subjunctive and places the verb right after als: als sprängen sie, 'as though they sprang'. die Lenden means 'the loins'.
7
iron, quivering with their free ends.
WordTwo words describing the arrows eisern means 'iron, of iron', used here adverbially. bebend is the present participle of beben, 'to tremble, quiver'. mit den freien Enden means 'with their free ends', the loose feathered ends of the shafts still shivering.
8
Yet he smiles darkly, unharmed.
Wordun- negates verletzt unverletzt means 'uninjured, unhurt', combining the prefix un- with verletzt, the participle of verletzen, 'to wound'. doch means 'yet, and yet', contrasting the arrows with the saint's untouched state.
9
Only once does a sorrow grow great,
Grammarwerden with an adjective means becoming werden with a predicate adjective expresses becoming: groß werden means 'to grow, become great'. wird eine Trauer groß means 'a sorrow becomes great'. einmal nur, 'only once', is fronted for emphasis, sending wird ahead of its subject eine Trauer.
10
and the eyes lie painfully bare,
WordBare and exposed bloß as an adjective means 'bare, naked, uncovered'. bloß liegen means 'to lie exposed, to be laid bare'. schmerzlich means 'painfully', describing how the eyes lie open.
11
until they deny something, as a trifle,
WordTo deny, disavow leugnen means 'to deny, to disavow', to refuse that something is true. wie Geringes means 'as something slight', from das Geringe, 'the small, trivial thing'. The eyes deny the pain by treating it as nothing.
12
and as though they let go in contempt
Grammarals plus subjunctive with a separable verb als again pairs with a past subjunctive: ließen is Konjunktiv II of lassen. The verb is the separable loslassen, 'to let go, release', split so that los lands at the line's end: ließen … los. verächtlich means 'contemptuously'.
13
the destroyers of a beautiful thing.
GrammarAn agent noun governing the genitive der Vernichter, plural die Vernichter, means 'the destroyer', the agent noun from vernichten, 'to annihilate'. It governs a genitive object: die Vernichter eines schönen Dinges, 'the destroyers of a beautiful thing'. Ding takes the genitive ending -es, becoming Dinges.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
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