RAINER MARIA RILKE
SONETTE AN ORPHEUS
Erster Teil-I
This first poem of the series is one of the few which directly addresses the Orpheus mythology, in this case using his name in the second verse. The rhyme scheme is ABAB "Kreuzreim") CDDC ("umschlungener Reim") EFG GFE, the two tercets being mirror images. The meter is primarily iambic pentameter. In verse 5 "Tiere aus Stille" introduces a short dactylic substitution which compensates for its singularity with the assonance of the two concluding "e" sounds. The beginning of verse 9 also has a short dactylic substitution "sondern aus Hören," with an impure rhyme. In both cases the dancing meter quickens the pace. In verse 11 "kaum" and "dies" have to be scanned as unaccented. In the first four verses, the long "o" sound occurs six times: three times with the apostrophe "O," and once each with "Orpheus," "Ohr" and "vor."; the long "ö" sound occurs four times: in verse 6 with "gelöst," in verse 9 with "Hören" and "Geröhr" and in verse 14 with "Gehör." In verses 4 through 7 the long "a" sound occurs 4 times with "klaren," "Lager," "ergab" and "waren." In verses 9-12 the short "ü" occurs twice in "Brüllen" and "Hütte." In verse 10 the short "u" sound occurs thrice in "Unterschlupf" and "dunkelstem." This sound then becomes the long "u" of "schufst" in the last verse. The rhymes alternate between strong and weak rhymes in the quatrains, but the terzets have a strong rhyme surrounding two weak ones.
Da stieg [1] ein Baum. [2] O reine Übersteigung! [3]
There rose up a tree! O purest transcendence!
O Orpheus singt! [4] O hoher Baum [5] im Ohr!;
O Orpheus sings! O tall tree in ear!
Und alles schwieg. [6] Doch selbst in der Verschweigung [7]
And everything was silent. Yet even in the silencing
ging neuer Anfang, Wink und Wandlung [8] vor.
occured new beginning, hint and transformation.
Tiere aus Stille [9] drangen aus dem klaren
Animals of stillness thrust forth from the clear
gelösten Wald von Lager und Genist;
freed forest of refuge and nesting;
und da ergab sich, daß sie nicht aus List
and there it turned out, that they were thusly silent
und nicht aus Angst in sich so leise waren,
not from deceit and not from fear,
sondern aus Hören. [10] Brüllen, Schrie, Geröhr [11]
but rather from hearing. Bellowing, screaming, uproar
schien klein in ihren Herzen. Und wo eben
appeared small in their hearts. And where at the moment
kaum eine Hütte war, dies zu empfangen,
hardly a hut was present, to receive this,
ein Unterschlupf aus dunkelstem Verlangen [12]
a resting place made of darkest longing
mit einem Zugang, desses Pfosten beben,-- [13]
with an entrance, of which the posts quiver,--
da schufst du [14] ihnen Tempel im Gehör. [15]
A temple you there created in their hearing.
Da stieg ein Baum. O reine Übersteigung!
A tree ascended there! O pure ascendence!
O Orpheus singt! O hoher Baum im Ohr!;
O Orpheus sings! O tallest tree in ear!
Und alles schwieg. Doch selbst in der Verschweigung
And all was quiet. Yet even quietude brought near
ging neuer Anfang, Wink und Wandlung vor.
a new beginning, hint and trascendence.
Tiere aus Stille drangen aus dem klaren
Creatures of stillness rushed from the clear
gelösten Wald von Lager und Genist;
unfettered woods out of lair and retreat;
und da ergab sich, daß sie nicht aus List
and thence it followed, that not from deceit
und nicht aus Angst in sich so leise waren,
were they so noiseless and not from fear,
sondern aus Hören. Brüllen, Schrie, Geröhr
but from listening. Howling, screams, bellowing
schien klein in ihren Herzen. Und wo eben
seemed small within their hearts. And where noway
kaum eine Hütte war, dies zu empfangen,
could a refuge be there, this to acquire,
ein Unterschlupf aus dunkelstem Verlangen
a resting place of deepest dark desire,
mit einem Zugang, desses Pfosten beben,--
with an entranceway with jambs asway,--
da schufst du ihnen Tempel im Gehör.
There you built a temple in their hearing.
[1] stieg: Imperfekt of strong verb "steigen." First part of polyptoton followed by "Übersteigung," both based on the the verb's principal parts "steigen, stieg, ist gestiegen." Imperfekt: The German tense which corresponds in form to the English past tense. Polyptoton: The repetition of the same word or root in different grammatical functions or forms.
[2] Baum: Beginning of Chiasmus which concludes with "O hoher Baum im Ohr!" Pointed out in Christoph König's analysis. Chiasmus: Any structure in which elements are repeated in reverse, so giving the pattern ABBA. Comes from the Greek letter for "X" which is "chi."
[3] Übersteigung!: Polyptoton from verb "steigen, stieg, ist gestiegen." In the 2016 publication "Über die Sonette an Orpheus von Rilke," the present sonnet is analysed by Christoph König. He states in regard to the word "Übersteigung": "Das Verbalsubstantiv 'Übersteigung' ist Rilkes Sprachschöpfung. Man wird sie in keinem Lexikon finden." The 1968 Sprach-Brockhaus, although at the moment sunk into obsolescence, was a highly regarded dictionary. After the definition of the verb "übersteigen" as "bildlich"es übersteigt meine Kräfte, ist zuviel dafür," the noun (HPTW) form "Übersteigung" is given. Also the first of three successive exclamation points, a record for the 26 poems in the first part of the Sonette an Orpheus. Some Sonette have two, but not successive. Polyptoton: The repetition of the same word or root in different grammatical functions or forms.
[4] O Orpheus singt!: Third use of the apostrophe "O." Could be seen as in apposition to "O reine Übersteigung" and thus as continuation of the Chiasmus. Normally a chiasmus uses the same words as in "Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you," but Rilke apparently does not follow the classical rules perfectly. Also note the historical present tense ("das historische Präsens") "singt." One of the functions of the historical present is to emphasize the element in this tense through the contrast with the other verbs in another tense. All but one of the other verbs in this Sonnet are in the Imperfekt. See footnote 11 for the reason for the other present-tense verb. Apostrophe: The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech. Apposition 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. Chiasmus: Any structure in which elements are repeated in reverse, so giving the pattern ABBA. Comes from the greek letter for "X" which is "chi." "A form of perfection to perfection form." Historical Present: In linguistics and rhetoric, the historical present or historic present (also called dramatic present or narrative present) is the employment of the present tense when narrating past events.
[5] Baum: The final part of the Chiasmus. Chiasmus: Any structure in which elements are repeated in reverse, so giving the pattern ABBA. Comes from the greek letter for "X" which is "chi."
[6] schwieg: In parallel to the first verse, with which it rhymes, the first short sentence of the third verse also has a one syllable verb in the Imperfekt, which is then followed with a polyptoton, in this case with "Verschweigung." The principal parts of the strong verb "schweigen" are "schweigen, schwieg, geschwiegen." Polyptoton: The repetition of the same word or root in different grammatical functions or forms.
[7] Verschweigung: Conclusion of the polyptoton which began with "schwieg." Contrary to the first verse, this sentence continues until the end of the fourth verse. This is called enjambment which is a frequent technique throughout the Sonette. Enjambment or the less elegant German term Versüberschreitung causes a tension between the pause after the rhyme and the sentence continuing after the rhyme, which negates or shortens the pause. The fact that the enjambment occurs after a completed prepositional phrase "in der Verschweigung" followed with the verb "ging" beginning with a "g" creates a small pause. Enjambment: The overflow into the following poetic line of a syntactic phrase (with its intonational contour) begun in the preceding line without a major juncture or pause. Polyptoton: The repetition of the same word or root in different grammatical functions or forms.
[8] Wink und Wandlung: Alliteration. Alliteration: The repetition of the sound of an initial consonant or consonant cluster in stressed syllables close enough to each other for the ear to be affected.
[9] Tiere aus Stille: This substitution in the meter with one foot of dactylic meter and the assonance of weak "e" sound (Schwa) speed up the entry of the effects of Orpheus' singing. Also first appearance of the Adonic Line pattern, albeit in a metrical break, which will appear later in a more nearly pure form. Dactyl: A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short ones. Adoneus or Adonic Line: According to the German Wikipedia, the Adoneus is: "ein aus der Antike stammender Versfuß aus fünf Gliedern mit der Form -UU-U.
[10] sondern aus Hören: The second instance of a dactylic substitution at the beginning of a verse, this time with a weak Binnenreim. Binnenreim: Reim innerhalb der Verszeile.
[11] Brüllen, Schrie, Geröhr: Asyndeton. Normal would be "Brüllen, Schrie und Geröhr." Also note the two time use of long "ö" in "Hören" and "Geröhr" in this verse.
[12] ein Unterschlupf aus dunkelstem Verlangen: In apposition to "kaum eine Hütte war, dies zu empfangen." This explains the deviant mirror rhyme of EFG GFE, since the clause in apposition must follow the clause to which it refers. Also an example of Enallage, since "aus dunkelstem Verlangen" refers to the animals and not to the "Unterschlupf." Enallage: The use of one grammatical form in some way incorrectly in place of another.
[13] beben: Since all other verbs in this Sonett are in the Imperfekt with the exception of the historical present of "O Orpheus singt," the use of the simple present tense "beben" appears to be "durch den Reim bedingt," i.e. caused by the rhyme. The word "bebten" would not rhyme with "eben." The "bebende Pfosten" could be the ears.
[14] du: "Apostrophe." Although in the second verse "Orpheus" is mentioned in the third person: "O Orpheus singt!," in this last verse he is dirctly addressed in the informal singular.
[15] Gehör: One problem with the mirror image Tercets is that this rhyme is five verses away from its rhyme partner "Geröhr."