# Sappho an Eranna · Sappho to Eranna

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** Unruh will ich über dich bringen,  
Unrest I want to bring over you,
> A short form meaning unrest: Unruh is a short poetic form of Unruhe, 'restlessness, disquiet', built from un- and Ruhe, 'rest, calm'. Placed first in the poem, it is the accusative object of bringen and names what Sappho promises to give.
> wollen with inverted word order: will is the first-person form of the modal wollen, 'to want', governing the infinitive bringen at the end of the line. Because the object Unruh comes first, subject and verb invert to ich will. The modal expresses intent, 'I mean to bring'.

**2** schwingen will ich dich, umrankter Stab.  
swing you I want to, wreathed staff.
> A staff wound with vines: der Stab means 'a staff, rod'. umrankt is the past participle of umranken, 'to twine around', from die Ranke, 'vine tendril'. An umrankter Stab is a staff wound with climbing vines, which Sappho says she will schwingen, 'swing, brandish'.

**3** Wie das Sterben will ich dich durchdringen  
Like dying I want to pierce through you
> An infinitive made into a noun: sterben means 'to die'. Capitalized as das Sterben, it becomes a noun meaning 'dying, the act of dying', distinct from der Tod, 'death' as a state. Wie das Sterben, 'like dying', compares it to how Sappho will durchdringen, 'pierce through', Eranna.
> An inseparable prefix stays fixed: durchdringen means 'to penetrate, to suffuse'. Because the stress falls on dringen, the prefix durch- is inseparable and never splits off. As the infinitive after the modal will, it sits whole at the end of the line.

**4** und dich weitergeben wie das Grab  
and pass you onward like the grave
> Two infinitives share one modal: weitergeben means 'to pass on, to hand onward'; weiter-, 'onward', is its separable prefix. It stays joined here because it is a second infinitive sharing will from the line before, alongside durchdringen.

**5** an das Alles: allen diesen Dingen.  
to the All: to all these things.
> alles turned into a noun: alles usually means 'everything'. Capitalized with an article, das Alles becomes a noun meaning 'the All, the whole of existence'. an das Alles, 'to the All', uses an with the accusative to name the recipient.
> A dative plural restates the noun: allen diesen Dingen is the dative plural of alle diese Dinge, 'all these things'; the -n endings on allen, diesen, and Dingen all mark that case. After the colon it restates das Alles in different words, though the two do not match in case.

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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.