German · New Poems

Spanische Tänzerin

Spanish Dancer

19 lines · 20 notes

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1
As in the hand a sulphur match, still white,
Wieaswie · conjunctiondepends on in
ininin · prepositiondepends on Wie
dertheder · determiner, dative, feminine, singulardepends on Hand
HandhandHand · noun, dative, feminine, singulardepends on in
einaein · determiner, nominative, neuter, singulardepends on Schwefelzündholz
Schwefelzündholzsulphur matchSchwefelzündholz · noun, nominative, neuter, singularsubject of streckt
weißwhiteweiß · adjective, predicativedepends on Schwefelzündholz
False friend: here 'weiß' means 'white,' not the verb 'to know' (from wissen).
WordA compound word for a match Schwefelzündholz is an older compound for 'a sulphur match', joining Schwefel, 'sulphur', and Zündholz, 'a match for lighting fires'. weiß, 'white', describes its unlit head before it catches flame.
2
before it comes to flame, to every side
GrammarA shortened word for before eh is the shortened poetic form of ehe, 'before', a subordinating conjunction. eh es zur Flamme kommt means 'before it comes to flame', with kommt, 'comes', held to the end of its clause.
3
thrusts out its twitching tongues—: so, ringed about
Wordzuckend, twitching zuckend is the present participle of zucken, 'to twitch' or 'flicker', used adjectivally before Zungen, 'tongues'. zuckende Zungen, 'twitching tongues', is the accusative plural object of streckt, 'thrusts out'.
GrammarVerb-first after a colon beginnt, 'begins', opens this clause with the verb first rather than the subject, a construction that can follow a colon or dash marking a new development. im Kreis, 'in the circle', is dative after im, marking the enclosing space.
4
by close onlookers, hurried, bright and hot,
Wordder Beschauer, an onlooker der Beschauer means 'onlooker' or 'observer', from beschauen, 'to view' or 'look at closely'. naher Beschauer, 'of close onlookers', is genitive plural, naming the agents by whom the dance is watched.
5
her rounded dance to spread itself, twitching.
Grammarsich ausbreiten, to spread itself sich ausbreiten means 'to spread oneself out' or 'expand'. auszubreiten is its zu-infinitive, with zu inserted between the prefix aus and the stem breiten, as required for all separable verbs.
6
And suddenly it is flame, wholly and entire.
GrammarPredicate noun without an article ist er Flamme uses Flamme, 'flame', as a predicate noun without an article, a common pattern for naming what something becomes entirely: 'it is flame'. ganz und gar, 'wholly and entirely', reinforces the completeness.
7
With her gaze she sets her own hair alight
Wordentzünden, to set alight entzünden means 'to ignite' or 'set alight', formed from zünden, 'to kindle', with the prefix ent-. entzündet is its third-person present, agreeing with sie, 'she', as its subject.
8
and all at once, with daring artistry, turns
Wordgewagt, daring gewagt is the past participle of wagen, 'to dare', used here as an adjective meaning 'daring' or 'risky'. mit gewagter Kunst, 'with daring artistry', is dative after mit, 'with'.
9
her whole dress into this conflagration,
WordA word for a great blaze die Feuersbrunst is a more literary word for fire than das Feuer, meaning 'a great blaze' or 'conflagration'. diese Feuersbrunst is accusative after in, 'into', marking a change of state.
10
out of which, like snakes that take fright,
Grammarwelcher after a preposition welcher is the relative pronoun 'which', dative feminine here after aus, 'out of', referring back to Feuersbrunst. wie Schlangen, die erschrecken, 'like snakes that take fright', is a comparison inserted inside the relative clause.
11
the naked arms stretch out, awake and clattering.
WordA participle for clattering klappernd is the present participle of klappern, 'to clatter' or 'rattle', used here as an adverb describing how the arms stretch out. wach und klappernd, 'awake and clattering', pairs it with wach, 'awake'.
12
And then: as though the fire were running short for her,
GrammarAn unreal comparison, verb first als introduces an unreal comparison and sends the verb to the front when ob is dropped: als würde, 'as though it were'. würde is the subjunctive of werden, and ihr das Feuer knapp means 'the fire were running short for her', with ihr as the dative of the person affected.
13
she gathers it all up and flings it off
GrammarTwo separable verbs in one line zusammennehmen, 'to gather up', and abwerfen, 'to throw off', are both separable, each splitting its prefix to the clause's end: nimmt … zusamm and wirft … ab. zusamm here is the poetic short form of zusammen.
14
most imperiously, with a haughty gesture,
Wordherrisch and hochmütig herrisch means 'imperious' or 'domineering', and hochmütig means 'haughty' or 'arrogant', literally 'high-minded'. herrisch functions as an adverb here, and hochmütiger agrees with the dative feminine Gebärde, 'gesture'.
15
and looks: there it lies raging on the ground
WordA participle for raging rasend is the present participle of rasen, 'to rage' or 'rave', used adverbially here to describe how something lies on the ground. auf der Erde, 'on the ground', is dative after auf, marking position.
16
and flames on still and will not give itself up—.
Grammarsich ergeben, to surrender sich ergeben means 'to surrender' or 'give oneself up'. ergibt sich nicht, 'will not give itself up', negates this with nicht placed after the reflexive pronoun sich.
17
Yet triumphant, sure, and with a sweet
WordAn adjective for triumphant sieghaft means 'triumphant' or 'victorious', built from der Sieg, 'victory', with the adjective suffix -haft. It functions here as an adverb describing the manner of the action that follows.
18
greeting smile she lifts her face
Wordgrüßend, greeting grüßend is the present participle of grüßen, 'to greet', used adjectivally before Lächeln, 'smile'. grüßendem Lächeln, 'with a greeting smile', is dative after mit, 'with'.
19
and stamps it out with small firm feet.
GrammarSeparable verb ausstampfen ausstampfen, 'to stamp out', is separable. Its prefix aus moves to the end of the clause while the conjugated stem stampft carries the verb's person and number: stampft es aus, 'stamps it out'.

The particulars

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