Now my misery becomes complete, and namelessly

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Jetzt wird mein Elend voll, und namenlos

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

Jetzt wird mein Elend voll, und namenlos
erfüllt es mich. Ich starre wie des Steins
Inneres starrt.
Hart wie ich bin, weiß ich nur Eins:
Du wurdest groß --
. . . . . . und wurdest groß,
um als zu großer Schmerz
ganz über meines Herzens Fassung
hinauszustehn.
Jetzt liegst du quer durch meinen Schooß,
jetzt kann ich dich nicht mehr
gebären.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Burghardt

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Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Gedichte, Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997, page 621.

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Pietà", appears in Das Marien-Leben, no. 11, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 63

Now my misery becomes complete, and...

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Now my misery becomes complete, and namelessly
it fills me. I congeal as the stone's
core congeals.
Hard as I am, I know only one thing:
You became great --
. . . . . . and became great
so as to overwhelm completely
the equanimity 
of my heart.
Now you lie diagonally through my lap,
now I can no longer
give birth to you.

About the headline (FAQ)

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Translations of title(s):
"Nun ist mein Elend voll" = "Now my misery is complete"
"Pietà" = "Pietà"
"Pietà I" = "Pietà I"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Pietà", appears in Das Marien-Leben, no. 11, first published 1912
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This text was added to the website: 2024-02-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 65