O BÄUME Lebens, [1] o wann winterlich? [2]
Oh tree of life, oh when winterly
Wir sind nicht einig. Sind nicht wie die Zug-
We are not of one mind. Are not in the know
vögel verständigt. Überholt und spät,
like migratory birds. Bypassed and late,
so [3] drängen wir uns plötzlich Winden auf
we thrust ourselves suddenly into winds
und fallen ein [4] auf teilnahmslosen Teich.
and fall upon disinterested ponds.
Blühn und verdorrn ist uns zugleich bewußt.
To bloom and to wither [A] is known to us at the same time.
Und irgendwo gehn Löwen noch und wissen,
And somewhere lions still go, and know
solong sie herrlich sind, von keiner Ohnmacht.
as long as they are full of majesty, of no powerlessness.
Uns aber, wo wir Eines meinen ganz, [5]
We, however, where we mean one thing entirely,
ist schon des andern Aufwand [6] fühlbar. Feindschaft
the cost to the other is already perceptible. Hostility
ist uns das Nächste. Treten Liebende
is closest to us. Are not lovers stepping
nicht immerfort an Ränder, eins im andern,
constantly on borders, one within the other,
die sich versprachen [7] Weite, Jagd und Heimat.
those who promised themselves distance, hunting and home.
Da wird für eines Augenblickes Zeichnung [8]
Then, the design of an instant calls
ein Grund von Gegenteil bereitet, mühsam, [9]
forth a basis for its opposite, effortfully,
daß wir sie sähen; [10] denn man ist sehr deutlich
so that we would see it; for one is very exact
mit uns. Wir kennen den Kontur
with us. We know not the contour
des Fühlens nicht, nur was ihn formt [11] von außen.
of feeling, only what forms it from outside.
Wer saß nicht bang vor seines Herzens Vorhang? [12]
Who did not sit anxiously in front of his heart's curtain.
Der [13] schlug sich auf: die Szenerie war Abschied.
It opened itself up: the scenery was leave-taking.
Leicht zu verstehen. Der bekannte Garten,
Easy to understand. The well-known garden,
und schwankte leise: dann erst kam der Tänzer.
and swayed slightly: only then did the dancer come.
Nicht d e r. [14] Genug. Und wenn er auch so leicht tut,
Not t h a t one. Enough. And even if he acts so gracefully,
er ist verkleidet, und er wird ein Bürger
he is disguised, and he becomes a solid citizen
und geht [15] durch seine Küche in die Wohnung.
and goes through his kitchen into the apartment.
Ich will nicht diese halbgefüllten Masken,
I do not want these half-filled masks,
lieber die Puppe. Die ist voll. Ich will
rather the puppet. It is full. I want to
den Balg [16] aushalten und den Draht und ihr [17]
hold out [B] the husk and the wire and its
Gesicht aus Aussehn. Hier. Ich bin davor.
face that is all exterior. Here. I am in front of it.
Wenn auch die Lampen ausgehn, wenn mir auch
Even when the lights go out, even when I am
gesagt wird: Nichts mehr --, wenn auch von der Bühne
told: Nothing more --, even when from the stage
das Leere herkommt mit dem grauen Luftzug,
emptiness comes forth with the gray air currents,
wenn auch [18] von meinen stillen Vorfahrn keiner [19]
even when of my silent ancestors no one
mehr mit mir dasitzt, keine Frau, sogar
sits with me any more, no woman,
der Knabe nicht mehr mit dem braunen Schielaug: [20]
not even the boy with the brown squinty eye:
Ich bleibe dennoch. Es gibt immer Zuschaun.
Yet I still remain. There is always watching.
Habe ich nicht recht? [21] Du, der um mich so bitter
Am I not right? You, who around me tasted
das Leben schmeckte, meines kostend, [22] Vater,
life so bitterly, father, savoring mine,
den ersten trüben Aufguß meines Müssens, [23]
the first murky infusion of my having to be,
da ich heranwuchs, immer wieder kostend [24]
as I grew forth, always again savoring
und, mit dem Nachgeschmack so fremder Zukunft
and, occupied with the aftertaste of such a strange future,
beschäftigt, [25] prüftest mein beschlagnes Aufschaun, --
tried out my clouded upward gaze,--
der du, mein Vater, seit du tot bist, oft
you, my father, who since you are dead, in my
in meiner Hoffnung, innen in mir Angst hast,
hope, within me myself, are often afraid;
und Gleichmut, wie ihn Tote haben, Reiche
and you would give up that apathy, such as the dead have, realms
von Gleichmut, [26] aufgibst [27] für mein bißchen Schicksal,
of apathy, you would give all that up for my little bit of destiny.
hab ich nicht recht? [28] Und ihr, hab ich nicht recht, [29]
Am I not right? And you others, am I not right,
die ihr mich liebtet für den kleinen Anfang
you who loved me for the small beginning
Liebe zu euch, von dem ich immer abkam,
of love toward you, from which I always deviated,
weil mir der Raum in eurem Angesicht,
because the space in your countenance,
da ich ihn liebte, überging [30] in Weltraum,
since I loved it, changed over into cosmic space,
in dem ihr nicht mehr wart. . . [31] Wenn mir zumut ist,
in which you no longer existed...When I am so inclined
zu warten [32] vor der Puppenbühne, nein,
to wait in front of the puppet theater, no
so völlig hinzuschauen, [33] daß, um mein Schauen
to so undividedly stare at it, that, in order to
am Ende aufzuwiegen, dort als Spieler
finally outweigh my scrutiny, there as a performer
ein Engel hinmuß, der die Bälge hochreißt.
an angel must come, who snatches up the husks.
Engel und Puppe [34] : dann ist endlich Schauspiel.
Angel and Puppet: then we would finally have a spectacle.
Dann kommt zusammen, was wir immerfort
Then comes together, what we constantly
entzwein, indem wir da sind. Dann entsteht
break asunder, while we are here. Only then arises
aus unsern Jahreszeiten erst der Umkreis
out of our seasons the orbit
des ganzen Wandelns. Über uns hinüber
of our total tranformation. Above us and beyond
spielt dann der Engel. Sieh, die Sterbenden, [35]
the Angel plays. Look, the dying ones,
sollten sie nicht vermuten, wie voll Vorwand [36]
should they not suspect, how full of pretext
das alles ist, was wir hier leisten. Alles
everything is, that we achieve here. Everything
ist nicht es selbst. O Stunden in der Kindheit,
is not itself. Oh hours in childhood,
da hinter den Figuren mehr als nur
when behind the figures there was more than just
Vergangnes [37] war und vor uns nicht die Zukunft.
past events, and before us not the future.
Wir wuchsen freilich und wir drängten manchmal,
We grew up to be sure and we hurried ofttimes
bald groß zu werden, denen [38] halb zulieb,
to soon be grown up, half for the sake of those
die andres nicht mehr hatten als das Großsein.
who had nothing other than their adulthood.
Und waren doch in unserem Alleingehn
And yet during our lonely passage we were
mit Dauerndem [39] vergnügt und standen da
delighted with that which endured and stood there
im Zwischenraume [40] zwischen Welt und Spielzeug,
in the interval between the world and plaything,
an einer Stelle, die seit Anbeginn
at a place, which since the beginning of time
gegründet war [41] für einen reinen Vorgang.
had been destined for a pure happening.
Wer zeigt ein Kind, so wie es steht? [42] Wer stellt
Who shows a child, how things stand? Who places
es [43] ins Gestirn und gibt das Maß des Abstands
him among the stars and puts in his hand the measure
ihm [44] in die Hand? Wer macht den Kindertod
of distancing? [C] Who makes the death of a child
aus grauem Brot, das hart wird, -- oder läßt
out of gray bread, that becomes hard,--or
ihn drin im runden Mund, so wie den Gröps
leaves it in the rounded mouth, like the core
von einem schönen Apfel? . . . . . . Mörder sind
af a beautiful apple?......Murderers are
leicht einzusehen. Aber dies: den Tod,
easy to comprehend. But this: death,
den ganzen Tod, [45] noch v o r [46] dem Leben so
death in its entirety, even b e f o r e life has begun,
sanft zu enthalten und nicht bös zu sein,
to hold it gently within oneself and not be angry,
ist unbeschreiblich.
that is indescribable.
[1] O Bäume Lebens: "O Bäume des Lebens."
[2] o wann winterlich?: Scesis onamaton, since the verb is totally eliminated. The idea of the absent verb is conveyed by the adjective "winterlich." Scesis onamaton: Omission of the only verb of a sentence.
[3] Überholt und spät, so: The "so" functions as a summation; otherwise, the line would be "Überholt und spät drängen wir uns. . ."
[4] ein: Hyberbaton. Normal word order would be "und fallen auf teilnahmslosen Teich ein." The tendency in the Elegien is to place the separable prefixes near the verb to strengthen the verbal action at that point. Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[5] ganz: Hyperbaton. (The newer edition, edited by Professor Zinn, has a comma before "ganz," mistakenly, I believe). Normal word order would be "wo wir Eines ganz meinen." The placement served primarily to prevent having two accented syllables "ganz meinen" together, and not to strongly emphasize the word "ganz," hence no comma. Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[6] des andern Aufwand: "die Aufwand des andern."
[7] versprachen: Note the Imperfekt to indicate the fact that the promise was not fulfilled.
[8] eines Augenblickes Zeichnung: "die Zeichnung eines Augenblickes."
[9] mühsam: Hyberbaton. In line 9 the use of "ganz" without a comma seems similar, leading to the editorial comma. Here a comma is used, to put special emphasis on the word "mühsam." The normal order would be "Da wird für eines Augenblickes Zeichnung ein Grund von Gegenteil mühsam bereitet." Here there are no two adjacent accented syllables. Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[10] sähen: (Konjunktiv II of "sehen" (Imperfekt"sah" with Umlaut and "e" ending) Translate as "so that we would see it."
[11] formt: Hyperbaton. "was ihn von außen formt. Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[12] vor seines Herzens Vorhang "vor dem Vorhang seines Herzens."
[13] Der: Demonstrative pronoun form used here instead of the weaker "Er" to refer back to "der Vorhang." Because of the three genders, German allows the demonstrative pronoun to refer back to an antecedent two or more nouns back.
[14] Nicht d e r: First of only two examples of Sperrdruck in this Elegie. Quite possibly refers to the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky, 1890-1950, who was considered the world's greatest dancer between the years 1907 to 1919. Danced with the "Ballets Russes" based in Paris. Sperrdruck: Spaced type formerly used for Italics and found in the Elegien. In modern editions replaced with italics.
[15] Und wenn er auch so leicht tut, er ist verkleidet, und er wird ein Bürger und geht. . .: Polysyndeton.: Starting with the "Und" of the secondary clause. Without the Polysyndeton, the sentence would be "Wenn er auch so leicht tut, ist er verkleidet, wird ein Bürger und geht durch..." Also a hyperbation, in beginning the second clause with "er." Polysyndeton: The repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect, as in the phrase "here and there and everywhere." Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[16] Balg: In his translation of the Elegien, David Oswald cites the Doll Museum of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, stating "this word originally designated the stuffed leather torso of a doll before the head was attached." In colloquial German "Ihr Bälge" means "you headless ones." Incidentally it also means "bellows."
[17] ihr: Possessive referring back to "Puppe." Even though there have been two nouns, "der Balg and der Draht" between "die Puppe" and the possessive adjective "ihr," it is clear in German that "ihr" refers to "Puppe," because the other two nouns are masculine and would have the possessive form "sein" This holds for animate and inanimate nouns. In English they would all have the possessive "its." The "ihr" lacks the "en" ending because it is used before a neuter noun, "das Gesicht."
[18] Wenn auch die Lampen ausgehn, Wenn mir auch gesagt wird: Nichts mehr--, wenn auch von der Bühne das Leere herkommt mit dem grauen Luftzug, wenn auch von meinen stillen Vorfahrn keiner mehr mit mir sitzt...: An anaphora with a series of 4 repetitions of "wenn auch" (one of them being "wenn mir auch") beginning 4 successive clauses. Also in the second clause a hyperbaton. Normal word order would be "wenn auch von der Bühne das Leere mit dem grauen Luftzug herkommt." Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs. Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[19] von meinen stillen Vorfahrn keiner: transposed genitive using the more colloquial "von." Normal word order would be "keiner von meinen stillen Vorfahrn."
[20] keine Frau, sogar der Knabe nicht mehr mit dem braunen Schielaug: An example of epanorthosis beginning with the "keiner" from the previous clause which is then further explained with "keine" for emphasis. The link between "keiner" and "keine" is further strengthened by the transposed genetive above explained. Epanorthosis, pl. -ses: The rephrasing of an immediately preceding word or statement for the purpose of intensification, emphasis, or justification.
[21] Hab ich nicht recht? An example of epanalepsis, since this exact phrase occurs three times, once here at line 37, once at the end of the next rather long, extremely convoluted sentence at line 47, and again after "Und ihr," at the beginning of the next clause. The first two of these are more specifically called an inclusio, since they enclose a longer passage which is 10 lines long! The second and third then being a classic epanalepsis because of the intervening words. Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence. Inclusio: An epanalepsis used to mark off a whole passage.
[22] meines kostend The pronoun "meines" refers to "mein Leben." The present participle "kostend" followed by "immer wieder kostend" after several words is an epanalepsis. As for all types of clauses and phrases which are not main clauses, the verb form comes at the end. Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence.
[23] den ersten trüben Aufguß meines Müssens: In apposition to "meines" in "meines kostend." Although the apposition comes after the word "Vater," which is in the nominative case, it cannot be in apposition to "Vater," since "den ersten trüben Aufguß meines Müssens" is in the accusative case. Therefore the word "meines" in the present participial phrase, "meines kostend," must be its antecedent. English, having no cases, necessitates that the apposition come directly after its antecedent. Therefore the word "father" had to be put before "savoring mine." Apposition is an explanatory noun or phrase normally placed after the noun explicated.In German it must be in the same case and set off with commas.
[24] immer wieder kostend: Second part of the epanalepsis.Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence
[25] beschäftigt: After two present participial phrases, a past participial phrase.
[26] Gleichmut, wie ihn Tote haben, Reiche von Gleichmut: An example of epanorthosis, since "Reiche von Gleichmut" is an intensification of "Gleichmut." The repetition of "Gleichmut" could also be seen as an Epanalepsis. Epanorthosis: The rephrasing of an immediately preceding word or statement for the purpose of intensification, emphasis, or justification. Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence.
[27] aufgibst: Hyperbaton. The verb for a middle section of the nine verse long sentence with the apostrophe subject "der du, mein Vater." The normal word order would be "und [du] gibst Gleichmut, wie ihn Tote haben, Reiche von Gleichmut, für mein bißchen Schicksal auf..." Hyperbaton A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect. Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction.
[28] hab ich nicht recht?: The second part of the inclusio. Inclusio: An epanalepsis used to mark off a whole passage.
[29] Und ihr, hab ich nicht recht?: With the words "Und ihr" between the two "hab ich recht" forming a straightforward epanalepsis. The "ihr" is an apostrophe which after the "hab ich nicht recht" becomes a "die ihr" meaning "you who," the subject of the the verb "liebet." One subtlety not present in English is that not only does German have an informal singular form of "you" ("thou" in archaic English), but also a plural form "ihr." Rilke has in this long apostrophe switched from "du" for his father to "ihr" for for other members of his family. Even French which has an informal singular "tu" uses the formal "vous" as the plural. Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence. Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction.
[30] überging: Hyperbaton. Normal word order would be "weil mir der Raum in eurem Angesicht, da ich ihn liebte, in Weltraum überging." Hyperbaton A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[31] . . . : This ellipsis indicates the leaving out of the concluding part of the "Hab ich nicht Recht" epanalepsis sequence used again in its inclusio form. The preceding repetitions have already created the expectation, so that another repetition would not only be an overstatement but also rhetorically redundant. Ellipsis: A mark or series of marks: ( . . . ) for example, used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words. Epanalepsis: a repetition of a word or a phrase with intervening words setting off the repetition, sometimes occurring with a phrase used both at the beginning and end of a sentence. inclusio: An epanalepsis used to mark off a whole passage.
[32] zu warten: Hyperbaton. Normal word order would be "vor der Puppenbühne zu warten." hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[33] nein, so völlig hinzuschauen: Epanorthosis. A rephrasing of "zu warten vor der Puppenbühne" for emphasis. Epanorthosis: The rephrasing of an immediately preceding word or statement for the purpose of intensification, emphasis, or justification
[34] Engel und Puppe: A form of an ellipsis called scesis onamaton in which the verb is totally left out (and in this case everything else except the subject) Ellipsis: The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding. Scesis onamaton: Omission of the only verb of a sentence.
[35] die Sterbenden: Here the pronoun "sie" precedes the noun subject "die Sterbenden." The comma before and thereafter indicates this to be an anticipatory appositive; without the commas it would be the direct object of "Sieh." Apposition is an explanatory noun or phrase normally placed after the noun explicated.
[36] voll Vorwand: An example of apocope, since the normal form would be "voller Vorwand." Apocope: The loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, as in Modern English "sing" from Middle English "singen."
[37] Vergangnes: Nominalisierung Abstract noun formed from the past participle "vergangen" with a syncope and used without an article with the strong "es" ending. Normal would be "Vergangenes." The nominative form with a definite article would be "das Vergangene" which would mean "that which has become past." Nominalisierung: The creation of an abstract noun from any part of speech. In German, all that is needed is to capitalize the word, be it verb, adverb, pronoun, past or present participle or conjunjction, and add the requisite case endings, if any. All such constructions are in the neuter gender. Syncope: The shortening of a word by omission of a sound, letter, or syllable from the middle of the word; for example, bos'n for boatswain.
[38] denen: Demonstative pronoun in the dative because of "zulieb." meaning "for the sake of" or "to do a thing to please."
[39] mit Dauerndem: Nominalisierung Present participle used as an abstract noun without an article in the dative. The nominative form with an article would be "das Dauernde" meaning "that which has permanence." Nominalisierung: The creation of an abstract noun from any part of speech. In German, all that is needed is to capitalize the word, be it verb, adverb, pronoun, past or present participle or conjunjction, and add the requisite case endings, if any. All such constructions are in the neuter gender.
[40] Zwischenraume: Pleonastic "e" after a dative preposition. Quite commen in German expressions: "zu Hause," "im Bilde" and "im Wege." Pleonastic: A superfluous word, phrase or letter.
[41] gegründet war: Hyperbaton Normal word order would be die seit Anbeginn für einen reinen Vorgang gegründet war." Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[42] so wie es steht: Ambiguous clause, since it could literally apply to "das Kind," but could also mean "how things stand." The latter meaning makes more sense.
[43] es: Refers back to "das Kind."
[44] ihm: Hyperbaton: Normal word would be "und gibt ihm das Maß des Abstands in die Hand?" Hyperbaton: A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.
[45] den Tod, den ganzen Tod: An example of epanorthosis, the modified repetition further precising "Tod." Epanorthosis the rephrasing of an immediately preceding word or statement for the purpose of intensification, emphasis, or justification.
[46] v o r: The last example of Sperrdruck in this Elegie. In this case the word "v o r" is accented, so the Sperrdruck is used to both heighten and lengthen it. Incidently, the meter of this Elegie has been predominately trochaic. Trochee: A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one short or unstressed syllable.
[A] To bloom and to wither: The German words "Blühn und verdorrn" are not gerunds; otherwise, the word "verdorrn" would be capitalized. They are German infinitive forms, which in German need no "zu" before themselves, but English must use the "to." Also note that they are treated as a unit, hence the singular verb "ist."
[B] hold out: An alternative translation and interpretation of this passage occurred to me recently. The separable verb "aushalten" normally means to "endure," but viewed as two separate parts "halten" and "aus" could also mean to literally "hold something out." It is noteworthy that Rilke has chosen to put the verb "aushalten " at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the action. By translating the passage as "to hold out the husk and the wire and its face that is all exterior," I hope to keep both meanings alive the same way that Rilke did.
[C] distancing: A deviation from my attempting to follow the German syntax. The word "Abstand" has the idea of "standing away from" because of the "ab." The English word "distance" is not as strong, but "distancing" more closely approximates the German word's connotation, even though it is a gerund instead of a normal noun.