# Totentanz · Dance of Death

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

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

**1** Sie brauchen kein Tanz-Orchester;  
They need no dance-orchestra;
> Negating a noun with kein: brauchen means 'to need, require'. German negates a noun object with kein, 'no, not any', which declines like the indefinite article. kein Tanz-Orchester is neuter accusative, so sie brauchen kein Tanz-Orchester means 'they need no dance orchestra'.

**2** sie hören in sich ein Geheule,  
they hear inside themselves a howling,
> The Ge- collective for sound: Geheule is built from heulen, 'to howl, wail', with the Ge- prefix and -e ending that name a continuous or repeated sound, like Gerede, 'chatter'. It means an ongoing howling, not a single howl. in sich hören means 'to hear within oneself'.

**3** als wären sie Eulennester.  
as though they were owls' nests.
> Als plus the subjunctive: als wären sie means 'as though they were'. als, 'as though', is followed by wären, the past subjunctive of sein, 'to be', which moves to first position before the subject sie. The subjunctive marks the comparison as unreal.

**4** Ihr Ängsten näßt wie eine Beule,  
Their terror weeps like a swelling,
> A noun from ängsten, and näßt: näßt is from nässen, 'to moisten, to ooze', used of a sore that runs. Ängsten turns the verb ängsten, 'to be afraid', into a singular abstract noun, 'their fear', which takes the singular verb näßt. Beule means 'a swelling, boil'. The ß is the pre-1996 spelling of nässt.

**5** und der Vorgeruch ihrer Fäule  
and the foretaste-smell of their rot
> A coined compound for smell: Vorgeruch joins vor-, 'before, fore-', with Geruch, 'smell', on the model of Vorgeschmack, 'foretaste'. It names a smell that arrives in advance. ihrer Fäule is genitive of die Fäule, 'rot', so the phrase means 'the fore-smell of their rot'.

**6** ist noch ihr bester Geruch.  
is still their best smell.
> noch with a superlative: This line completes the sentence begun before it: subject der Vorgeruch ihrer Fäule, verb ist, held to second position across the line break. noch here means 'still, even so'. bester is the superlative of gut, 'good', declined as masculine nominative.


**7** Sie fassen den Tänzer fester,  
They grip the dancer tighter,
> Comparative of the adverb fest: fassen means 'to seize, grasp, take hold of'; den Tänzer is its accusative object, 'the dancer'. fester is the comparative of the adverb fest, 'firmly', so fester fassen means 'to grip more tightly'.

**8** den rippenbetreßten Tänzer,  
the rib-braided dancer,
> A coined word for rib braid: rippenbetreßt is Rilke's own coinage, joining die Rippe, 'rib', with betreßt, the participle of betressen, 'to trim with braid', from die Tresse, 'braid'. It describes the dancer's ribs as though trimmed with the gold braid of a coat. The ß is the pre-1996 spelling.

**9** den Galan, den echten Ergänzer  
the gallant, the true completer
> Old word for a gallant: der Galan, borrowed from French and Spanish, names a gallant or beau, the attentive male escort of a lady. der Ergänzer, from ergänzen, 'to complete', means 'the one who completes'. Both nouns stand in apposition to Tänzer, so this dancer is called a gallant and a true completer.

**10** zu einem ganzen Paar.  
into a whole pair.
> Zu plus dative for result: zu here takes the dative einem ganzen Paar and marks a result, 'into a whole pair'. ganz means 'whole, entire' and das Paar means 'pair, couple'. The phrase depends on Ergänzer from the line before, so he completes each one into a whole pair.

**11** Und er lockert der Ordensschwester  
And he loosens, for the nun,
> Dative marks whose thing is loosened: lockert is from lockern, 'to loosen, slacken'. der Ordensschwester is dative, marking the person the loosened thing belongs to, so the sense is 'loosens the nun's', not 'loosens for the nun' in a general way. die Ordensschwester means 'sister of an order', a nun. The object being loosened, das Tuch, follows in the next line.

**12** über dem Haar das Tuch;  
over her hair, the cloth;
> Dative marks fixed position: über is a two-way preposition, dative for a fixed location and accusative for motion toward one. Here dem Haar is dative because the cloth sits over the hair rather than moving there. das Tuch is the accusative object of lockert from the line before, held to the end of the clause.

**13** sie tanzen ja unter Gleichen.  
for they are dancing among equals.
> Ja as a flavoring particle: ja here is not 'yes' but a modal particle appealing to shared knowledge, close to 'after all' or 'you know'. unter Gleichen means 'among equals', unter plus the dative plural of der/die Gleiche, an adjective used as a noun for 'the equal, the like'. The parses gloss ja as 'after all'.

**14** Und er zieht der wachslichtbleichen  
And from the candle-pale woman he draws
> A coined compound for candle pale: wachslichtbleich joins das Wachslicht, 'wax candle', with bleich, 'pale, wan', to mean 'pale as a wax taper'. It stands as an adjective used as a noun, dative feminine singular, referring to the same nun. The dative again marks the person something is drawn from, with the object, die Lesezeichen, following two lines later.

**15** leise die Lesezeichen  
softly the bookmarks
> Compound for bookmark: das Lesezeichen, plural die Lesezeichen, joins lesen, 'to read', with das Zeichen, 'mark, sign', to give 'reading mark, bookmark'. leise means 'softly, gently'. Here they are accusative plural, the object of zieht from the line before.

**16** aus ihrem Stunden-Buch.  
out of her book of hours.


**17** Bald wird ihnen allen zu heiß,  
Soon it grows too hot for them all,
> Impersonal construction with dative: The implied subject is es, 'it', with wird, 'becomes, grows', standing second after the fronted bald, 'soon'. The person affected takes the dative, ihnen allen, 'for them all'. zu heiß means 'too hot'. Literally, 'soon it becomes too hot for them all'.

**18** sie sind zu reich gekleidet;  
they are dressed too richly;
> Past participle used predicatively: gekleidet is the past participle of kleiden, 'to clothe, dress', used after sein: sie sind gekleidet, 'they are dressed'. zu reich means 'too richly'. The parses show sind as the main verb and gekleidet depending on it.

**19** beißender Schweiß verleidet  
stinging sweat spoils
> Verleiden takes dative and accusative: verleiden means 'to spoil something for someone, to make it hateful'. It takes a dative of the person and an accusative of the thing spoiled, so the pattern is 'sweat spoils brow and rump for them'. beißend, from beißen, 'to bite', means 'biting, stinging, acrid', describing the sweat.

**20** ihnen Stirne und Steiß  
their brow and rump for them
> Two nouns for brow and rump: die Stirn, also spelled Stirne, means 'forehead, brow'. der Steiß means 'rump, tailbone, backside'. Both are accusative, objects of verleidet from the line before, joined by und. The parses mark ihnen as a dative of possession, so 'their brow and rump' comes from 'spoils for them, brow and rump'.

**21** und Schauben und Hauben und Steine;  
and gowns and bonnets and jewels;
> Three nouns for garments and gems: die Schaube is an old word for a wide overgown or robe. die Haube is a bonnet or cap. Steine here means 'stones' in the sense of gemstones. All three are accusative plural, still governed by verleidet, joined by repeated und, listing what else the sweat spoils.

**22** sie wünschen, sie wären nackt  
they wish they were naked
> Subjunctive after wünschen: wünschen, 'to wish', introduces a wish contrary to fact, so the following clause uses the past subjunctive, Konjunktiv II: sie wären nackt, 'they were naked' or 'they would be naked'. No conjunction is needed before the wished-for clause. nackt means 'naked, bare'.

**23** wie ein Kind, ein Verrückter und Eine:  
like a child, a madman, and a certain woman:
> Adjectives used as nouns: der Verrückte is an adjectival noun from verrückt, 'mad', meaning 'the madman'. Eine, capitalized, is the feminine of einer used as a noun, 'a certain woman, a particular one', set apart from a plain 'one'. The parses list a child, a madman, and this woman as three figures named before a colon.

**24** die tanzen noch immer im Takt.  
they are dancing still, in time.
> Die as a demonstrative pronoun: die opens the line as a demonstrative pronoun, 'these, they', pointing back to the child, the madman, and the woman named before. noch immer means 'still, even now'. der Takt is the musical beat, so im Takt means 'in time, on the beat'.

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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.