German · New Poems

Selbstbildnis aus dem Jahre 1906

Self-Portrait from the Year 1906

14 lines · 13 notes

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1
Of the old, long-noble lineage,
Desof theder · determiner, genitive, neuter, singulardepends on Geschlechtes
altenoldalt · adjective, genitive, neuter, singulardepends on Geschlechtes
langelonglange · adverbdepends on adligen
adligennobleadlig · adjective, genitive, neuter, singulardepends on Geschlechtes
GeschlechteslineageGeschlecht · noun, genitive, neuter, singularhead of the phrase
GrammarA genitive placed before its noun The phrase is genitive: des Geschlechtes means 'of the lineage', and the adjectives alten and adligen take the genitive ending -en to agree with it. Rilke places this genitive before the noun it depends on, Feststehendes, in the next line. Lange is an adverb here, 'long', modifying adligen, not an inflected adjective.
2
something fixed in the arch of the brow.
WordA verb turned into a noun Feststehendes nominalizes feststehend, 'fixed, settled', itself the present participle of feststehen, 'to stand firm'. Capitalized, it functions as a noun meaning 'something settled'. Augenbogenbau is a compound of Augenbogen, the brow ridge, and Bau, 'structure', naming the bony arch above the eye.
3
In the gaze still childhood's fear and blue,
GrammarGenitive precedes two nouns Der Kindheit is a genitive, 'of childhood', placed before the nouns it modifies, Angst und Blau. This word order is equivalent to die Angst und das Blau der Kindheit, with the genitive following. Blau is a neuter noun here, 'the blue', paired with the abstract noun Angst, 'fear'.
4
and humility here and there, not a serf's,
5
but that of one who serves, and of a woman.
WordNominalized participle in genitive Dienenden nominalizes the participle dienend, 'serving', from dienen, 'to serve'. In the genitive, eines Dienenden means 'of one who serves'. It appears alongside einer Frau, 'of a woman', both genitives depending on Demut, 'humility', named earlier in the sentence.
6
The mouth made as a mouth, large and exact,
GrammarMeaning as intended to be Als here means 'as, in the sense of being made to be'. Der Mund als Mund gemacht means 'the mouth made precisely as a mouth'. Gemacht is the past participle of machen, 'to make', used as an adjective with the verb sein left unstated.
7
not persuading, but a just thing
WordPersuade by pressure, not reason Überreden means 'to talk someone into something, to persuade by pressure', distinct from überzeugen, 'to convince by reason'. Nicht überredend means 'not persuading' in that pressuring sense. Ein Gerechtes nominalizes the adjective gerecht, 'just, righteous', meaning 'a just thing', completed by Aussagendes in the next line.
8
uttering. The forehead without anything base
GrammarA participle completed next line Aussagendes, from aussagen, 'to state, to declare', completes the phrase begun in the previous line: ein Gerechtes Aussagendes means 'something that states what is just'. The sentence runs over the line break before its meaning is complete. Ohne Schlechtes uses Schlechtes, the nominalized form of schlecht, 'bad', meaning 'without anything bad'.
9
and glad in the shadow of a quiet looking-down.
WordA compound coined by Rilke Niederschau combines nieder, 'downward', with Schau, 'a looking', related to schauen, 'to look'. It names a lowered, downward gaze. Gern is an adverb here meaning 'gladly, willingly'.
10
This, as a whole, only sensed as yet;
WordA noun meaning coherent whole Zusammenhang means 'connection, context, a coherent whole', literally a hanging together. Als Zusammenhang means 'as one coherent thing'. Geahnt is the past participle of ahnen, 'to sense, to have a presentiment of'; erst nur geahnt means 'as yet only sensed'.
11
never yet in suffering or in success
WordInfinitive used as a noun Gelingen is the nominalized infinitive of gelingen, 'to succeed, to turn out well', used here as a neuter noun meaning 'success'. It is paired with Leiden, 'suffering', in im Leiden oder im Gelingen, 'in suffering or in success'.
12
gathered into a lasting penetration,
WordAn elided participle and a noun Zusammgefaßt is an elided spelling of zusammengefaßt, the past participle of zusammenfassen, 'to gather, to sum up'. It governs the dative phrase zu dauerndem Durchdringen. Durchdringen, from durchdringen, 'to pierce through, to permeate', is used as a noun meaning 'penetration'.
13
yet as if, with scattered things,
GrammarWord order after als Als wäre means 'as though... were', the past subjunctive, Konjunktiv II, of sein, 'to be', after als. In such clauses German places the verb right after als instead of at the end of the clause. Zerstreuten is the dative plural of zerstreut, 'scattered'.
14
from afar something serious, something real, were planned.
GrammarSubject of the passive subjunctive The clause begun with wäre in the previous line ends here. Its subject is ein Ernstes, Wirkliches, two neuter nominalized adjectives meaning 'something serious, something real'. Together with wäre, geplant forms a passive subjunctive, wäre geplant, 'were planned'. Von fern means 'from a distance' and modifies geplant.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems.
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