# Vor-Ostern · Before Easter

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

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

**1** Morgen wird in diesen tiefgekerbten  
Tomorrow, through these deeply furrowed
> Tomorrow, fronted: Morgen here, though capitalized, is an adverb meaning 'tomorrow', not the noun for 'morning'. Fronting it pushes the finite verb wird into second position. The verb and its subject, das Gold, sit far apart, several lines away.
> A compound past participle: tiefgekerbt is a compound past participle used as an adjective: tief, 'deep', plus gekerbt, from kerben, 'to notch, carve'. It means 'deeply notched, furrowed', describing the narrow streets.

**2** Gassen, die sich durch getürmtes Wohnen  
alleys that, through towering dwellings,
> Housing piled tower-high: getürmt, 'towered, piled up high', from Turm, 'tower', modifies Wohnen, the verb 'to dwell' turned into a neuter noun, 'dwelling'. The phrase means housing piled up tower-high over the lanes.

**3** unten dunkel nach dem Hafen drängen,  
press darkly downward toward the harbor;
> The verb of the relative clause: drängen, 'to press, crowd, push', is the plural verb of the relative clause begun two lines earlier with die sich. The subject is Gassen, 'alleys', which press downhill nach dem Hafen, 'toward the harbor', with nach taking the dative.

**4** hell das Gold der Prozessionen rollen;  
the bright gold of the processions will roll;

**5** statt der Fetzen werden die ererbten  
in place of rags, the inherited
> statt plus genitive: The preposition statt, 'instead of', governs the genitive: statt der Fetzen means 'instead of the rags'. werden ... hängen is a future construction; the participle ererbten, 'inherited', from erben, 'to inherit', waits for its noun in the next line.

**6** Bettbezüge, welche wehen wollen,  
bed-linens, which long to billow,
> Wanting to billow: wehen means 'to blow, flutter, wave', as of cloth in the wind; wollen here lends intention, so welche wehen wollen means 'which want to flutter'. welche is a more formal relative pronoun, interchangeable with die.

**7** von den immer höheren Balkonen  
from the balconies, each higher than the last
> immer plus comparative: immer before a comparative means 'ever more, increasingly': immer höher means 'higher and higher'. den immer höheren Balkonen is dative plural after von, 'from the ever-higher balconies'.

**8** (wie in Fließendem gespiegelt) hängen.  
(as if mirrored in flowing water) will hang.
> Adjective used as a noun: fließend, 'flowing', is used here as a neuter noun, das Fließende, 'that which flows', declined in the dative after in: in Fließendem means 'in something flowing'. hängen is the main verb the sentence has been holding for since several lines earlier.


**9** Aber heute hämmert an den Klopfern  
But today, on the door-knockers, hammers
> The door-knocker: der Klopfer means 'door-knocker', from klopfen, 'to knock'. hämmern an plus dative means 'to hammer at'. The verb hämmert stands before its subject, ein voll Bepackter, which arrives in the next line.

**10** jeden Augenblick ein voll Bepackter,  
at every moment someone fully laden,
> Participle as noun: bepackt, 'laden, loaded up', past participle of bepacken, is used here as a masculine noun: 'a laden one'. voll means 'fully'. jeden Augenblick is an accusative of time, 'at every moment'.

**11** und sie schleppen immer neue Käufe;  
and they drag ever-new purchases along;
> To drag, lug, haul: schleppen means 'to drag, lug, haul' something heavy. immer neue Käufe means 'ever-new purchases'; der Kauf, plural Käufe, is 'a purchase', from kaufen, 'to buy'.

**12** dennoch stehen strotzend noch die Stände.  
and yet the stalls still stand there, bursting full.
> Overflowing, crammed full: strotzen (vor) means 'to be bursting, brimming with'. The present participle strotzend means 'overflowing, crammed full'. die Stände, singular der Stand, are market stalls; dennoch means 'and yet, nevertheless'.

**13** An der Ecke zeigt ein aufgehackter  
On the corner, a hacked-open
> Hacked open, split open: aufgehackt is the past participle of the separable verb aufhacken, auf- plus hacken, 'to hack or chop open'. As an adjective it means 'hacked open, split open', modifying Ochse, 'ox', in the next line.

**14** Ochse seine frischen Innenwände,  
ox displays its fresh inner walls,
> An architectural term, transferred: die Innenwand, plural Innenwände, means 'inner wall(s)', normally an architectural term. zeigt, 'shows, displays', from the previous line, takes Innenwände as its object, agreeing in the accusative feminine plural.

**15** und in Fähnchen enden alle Läufe.  
and all the legs end in little flags.
> The diminutive suffix: das Fähnchen is the diminutive of die Fahne, 'flag': 'little flag'. der Lauf, plural Läufe, is the hunter's and butcher's word for an animal's leg. The -chen suffix always makes a noun neuter.

**16** Und ein Vorrat wie von tausend Opfern  
And a hoard as if from a thousand sacrifices
> Vorrat and Opfer: der Vorrat means 'store, stock, hoard'. das Opfer means both 'sacrifice' and 'victim'; von tausend Opfern means 'from a thousand sacrifices'. The clause runs on across the stanza break, its verbs arriving only in the next stanza.


**17** drängt auf Bänken, hängt sich rings um Pflöcke,  
crowds onto benches, slings itself round pegs,
> rings um plus accusative: rings um means 'all around, round about' and takes the accusative: rings um Pflöcke means 'all around the pegs'. der Pflock, plural Pflöcke, means 'peg, stake'. drängt and hängt sich complete the sentence begun in the previous stanza.

**18** zwängt sich, wölbt sich, wälzt sich aus dem Dämmer  
squeezes, bulges, heaves itself out of the gloom
> Three reflexive verbs in a row: Each verb here takes sich: sich zwängen, 'to squeeze, force one's way'; sich wölben, 'to arch, bulge'; sich wälzen, 'to roll, heave'. aus dem Dämmer, aus plus dative, means 'out of the twilight, gloom'.

**19** aller Türen, und vor dem Gegähne  
of all the doors, and before the gaping
> The Ge-...-e collective: Gegähne is a coinage on gähnen, 'to yawn, to gape'. The pattern Ge-...-e forms a neuter noun for a continuous, repeated action, here the ongoing 'gaping' of the split-open melons named in the next line.

**20** der Melonen strecken sich die Brote.  
of the melons the loaves stretch themselves out.
> Inversion before the subject: The fronted phrase vor dem Gegähne der Melonen, 'before the gaping of the melons', puts the verb strecken sich before its subject, die Brote, 'the loaves'. sich strecken means 'to stretch out, extend oneself'. das Brot, plural Brote, means 'loaf, loaves'.

**21** Voller Gier und Handlung ist das Tote;  
Full of greed and bustle is the dead;
> Adjective used as a noun: tot, 'dead', is made here into a neuter noun: das Tote, 'that which is dead'. The line inverts for emphasis, putting the predicate first: 'Full of Gier und Handlung, greed and bustle, is the dead'.

**22** doch viel stiller sind die jungen Hähne  
yet far quieter are the young cockerels
> viel plus comparative: viel before a comparative intensifies it: viel stiller means 'much quieter'. doch means 'yet, but'. der Hahn, plural Hähne, means 'rooster, cockerel', the subject of sind.

**23** und die abgehängten Ziegenböcke  
and the hung-up billy-goats
> abgehängt and Ziegenbock: abgehängt is the participle of the separable verb abhängen, 'to take down, to hang off', and of meat, 'to hang to age'. der Ziegenbock means 'billy-goat', from Ziege, 'goat', and Bock, 'male'.

**24** und am allerleisesten die Lämmer,  
and quietest of all the lambs,
> The absolute superlative: am leisesten is the superlative of leise, 'quiet, soft', meaning 'most quiet'. The prefix aller- pushes it to the absolute extreme: am allerleisesten means 'quietest of all', describing die Lämmer, 'the lambs'.


**25** die die Knaben um die Schultern nehmen  
which the boys take up around their shoulders
> Relative pronoun plus subject: The first die is the relative pronoun, accusative, referring back to die Lämmer, 'the lambs'; the second die is the article of the subject die Knaben, 'the boys'. The relative clause sends its verb, nehmen, to the end. der Knabe means 'boy, lad'.

**26** und die willig von den Schritten nicken;  
and which nod willingly with each step;
> Willing, compliant: willig means 'willing, compliant, docile'. von den Schritten nicken means the lambs' heads 'nod from the steps', jolted into a nod by the boys' stride.

**27** während in der Mauer der verglasten  
while, set in the wall, the brooch of the glass-cased
> A conjunction that delays the verb: während, 'while, whereas', is a subordinating conjunction: it sends the finite verb, schimmert, to the very end of its clause, four lines later. verglast, 'glazed, glass-cased', from Glas, agrees with spanischen Madonna, named in the next line.

**28** spanischen Madonna die Agraffe  
Spanish Madonna, and the silver
> A jeweled clasp: die Agraffe, from French agrafe, means an ornamental clasp or brooch, the jeweled fastening of a cloak. It is one subject of schimmert several lines later. der spanischen Madonna is genitive, 'the Spanish Madonna's clasp'.

**29** und das Silber in den Diademen  
in the diadems
> Diadem: das Diadem, plural Diademe, means 'diadem, jeweled crown'. das Silber in den Diademen means 'the silver in the diadems', the second subject of schimmert. in den Diademen is dative plural after in.

**30** von dem Lichter-Vorgefühl beglänzter  
gleams the brighter with the foretaste of candlelight
> A foretaste of candlelight: das Vorgefühl means 'presentiment, foretaste'; Lichter is the plural of Licht, 'light, candle', giving 'a foretaste of the candles'. beglänzter is a comparative built on beglänzt, 'lit up, made to shine', from Glanz, 'sheen'.

**31** schimmert. Aber drüber in dem Fenster  
shimmers. But above, in the window,
> The long-delayed verb: schimmern means 'to shimmer, glimmer'. This single verb closes the während-clause begun four lines earlier, gathering its subjects across that span. drüber equals darüber, 'above it'; a new sentence starts mid-line with Aber, 'but'.

**32** zeigt sich blickverschwenderisch ein Affe  
an ape shows itself off, squandering every glance,
> A Rilke coinage: blickverschwenderisch joins Blick, 'glance, look', with verschwenderisch, 'lavish, prodigal', from verschwenden, 'to squander'. It means 'prodigal with glances'. zeigt sich, from sich zeigen, means 'to show oneself, to appear'.

**33** und führt rasch in einer angemaßten  
and swiftly, in a presumptuous
> Presumptuous, put-on: angemaßt is the participle of sich etwas anmaßen, 'to arrogate, presume, lay false claim to something'. As an adjective it means 'presumptuous, put-on'. führt ... aus is the separable verb ausführen, 'to perform, carry out', split across two lines.

**34** Haltung Gesten aus, die sich nicht schicken.  
posture performs gestures that are unbecoming.
> To be fitting: sich schicken means 'to be seemly, proper, becoming': das schickt sich nicht means 'that is not done'. die sich nicht schicken means 'that are unbecoming'. Here the separable aus of ausführen finally lands, closing the clause begun two lines earlier.

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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.