The Angel in the House — Page 6

English → De Book I. Level 7/10

In shape no slender Grace,

In der Gestalt keine schlanke Grazie,

But Venus; milder than the dove;

Sondern Venus; sanfter als die Taube;

Her mother's air; her Norman face;

Das Wesen ihrer Mutter; ihr normannisches Gesicht;

Her large sweet eyes, clear lakes of love.

Ihre großen süßen Augen, klare Seen der Liebe.

Mary I knew. In former time

Mary kannte ich. In früherer Zeit

Ailing and pale, she thought that bliss

Kränklich und blass, glaubte sie, dass Glückseligkeit

Was only for a better clime,

Nur für ein besseres Klima sei,

And, heavenly overmuch, scorn'd this.

Und, allzu himmlisch gesinnt, verachtete sie dieses.

I, rash with theories of the right,

Ich, vorschnell mit Theorien des Rechten,

Which stretch'd the tether of my Creed,

Die das Band meines Glaubens dehnten,

But did not break it, held delight

Aber es nicht zerrissen, betrachtete Freude

Half discipline. We disagreed.

Als halbe Disziplin. Wir waren uneinig.

She told the Dean I wanted grace.

Sie sagte dem Dekan, mir fehle Anstand.

Now she was kindest of the three,

Nun war sie die Freundlichste der drei,

And soft wild roses deck'd her face.

Und sanfte wilde Rosen schmückten ihr Gesicht.

And, what, was this my Mildred, she

Und, was, war dies meine Mildred, sie

To herself and all a sweet surprise?

Sich selbst und allen eine süße Überraschung?

My Pet, who romp'd and roll'd a hoop?

Mein Liebling, der tobte und einen Reifen rollte?

I wonder'd where those daisy eyes

Ich fragte mich, woher diese Gänseblümchenaugen

Had found their touching curve and droop.

Ihre rührende Wölbung und ihr Hängen gefunden hatten.

Unmannerly times! But now we sat

Unhöfliche Zeiten! Aber nun saßen wir

Stranger than strangers; till I caught

Fremder als Fremde; bis ich erwiderte

And answer'd Mildred's smile; and that

Mildreds Lächeln; und das

Spread to the rest, and freedom brought.

Breitete sich auf die anderen aus und brachte Freiheit.

The Dean talk'd little, looking on,

Der Dekan sprach wenig und schaute zu,

Of three such daughters justly vain.

Mit berechtigtem Stolz auf drei solche Töchter.

What letters they had had from Bonn,

Was für Briefe sie aus Bonn erhalten hatten,

Said Mildred, and what plums from Spain!

Sagte Mildred, und was für Pflaumen aus Spanien!

By Honor I was kindly task'd

Von Honor wurde ich freundlich aufgefordert,

To excuse my never coming down

Mein Ausbleiben zu entschuldigen,

From Cambridge; Mary smiled and ask'd

Aus Cambridge; Mary lächelte und fragte,

Were Kant and Goethe yet outgrown?

Ob ich Kant und Goethe schon überwunden hätte?

And, pleased, we talk'd the old days o'er;

Und erfreut sprachen wir über die alten Zeiten;

And, parting, I for pleasure sigh'd.

Und beim Abschied seufzte ich vor Freude.

Vocabulary

In: In, inside, within a place or time period.
der: The definite article for masculine nouns in German.
Gestalt: Form, shape, or figure of a person or thing.
keine: No, not a, or not any; feminine form of 'kein'.
schlanke: Slender, slim, or gracefully thin in appearance.
Sondern: But rather; used to contrast two statements or ideas.
sanfter: Gentle, soft, or mild in character or touch.
als: As, when, than; used in comparisons and time expressions.
die: The definite article for feminine and plural nouns.
Taube: Dove; a gentle bird symbolizing peace and innocence.
Das: The definite article for neuter nouns in German.
Wesen: Being, essence, nature, or creature in general.
ihrer: Her, hers; possessive pronoun for feminine or plural.
Mutter: Mother; female parent who gives birth or nurtures.
ihr: Her, their; possessive pronoun or indirect object pronoun.
Gesicht: Face; front of the head with facial features.
Ihre: Her, your; formal possessive pronoun in German.
großen: Large, big, or great in size or extent.
süßen: Sweet in taste or character; pleasant and agreeable.
Augen: Eyes; organs of sight on the human face.
klare: Clear, bright, transparent, or easy to understand.
Seen: Lakes; large bodies of water surrounded by land.
Liebe: Love; deep affection for a person or thing.
kannte: Knew; past tense of kennen, to know or be acquainted.
ich: I; first person singular nominative personal pronoun.
früherer: Earlier, former; comparative form of früh relating to time.
Zeit: Time; passage of moments, hours, days, or years.
Kränklich: Sickly, frail, or prone to illness and weakness.
und: And; basic conjunction connecting words, phrases, or clauses.
blass: Pale, wan; lacking color or brightness in appearance.
glaubte: Believed; past tense of glauben, to believe or think.
sie: She, they; third person pronoun for female or plural.
dass: That; subordinating conjunction introducing dependent clauses.
Nur: Only, just, merely; limiting word for single item.
für: For; preposition indicating purpose, direction, or beneficiary.
ein: A, an; indefinite article for masculine nouns.
besseres: Better; comparative form of gut, improved or superior.
Klima: Climate; weather conditions of a geographical region.
sei: Be; subjunctive form of sein in conditional contexts.
Und: And; basic conjunction connecting words, phrases, or clauses.
allzu: All too, far too; excessively or overly in degree.
himmlisch: Heavenly, divine, or relating to heaven or paradise.
verachtete: Despised, scorned; past tense of verachten, to disdain.
dieses: This; demonstrative pronoun for neuter noun in nominative.
Ich: I; first person singular nominative personal pronoun.
vorschnell: Rash, hasty, or premature in judgment and action.
mit: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or connection.
Theorien: Theories; systems of ideas intended to explain facts.
des: Of the; genitive form of definite article.
Rechten: Rights, justice; what is lawful or fair.
Die: The; definite article for feminine and plural nouns.
das: The, that; definite article for neuter nouns.
Band: Bond, tie, or ribbon connecting things together.
meines: My, of mine; possessive pronoun for neuter nouns.
Glaubens: Faith, belief; conviction in truth of doctrine.
dehnten: Stretched, extended; past tense of dehnen, to lengthen.
Aber: But; conjunction used to introduce contrasting statement.
es: It; neuter third person singular personal pronoun.
nicht: Not; negative word negating verbs, adjectives, or statements.
zerrissen: Torn, ripped; past participle of zerreißen, to tear apart.
betrachtete: Regarded, viewed; past tense of betrachten, to consider.
Freude: Joy, delight, or happiness at something pleasant.
Als: As, when, than; used for comparison or temporal reference.
halbe: Half, partial; equal to one of two equal parts.
Disziplin: Discipline; training, control, or branch of knowledge.
Wir: We; first person plural nominative personal pronoun.
waren: Were; past tense plural of sein, to be.
uneinig: Disagreeing, at odds; not in agreement with each other.
Sie: She, you; formal second person or third person feminine.
sagte: Said; past tense of sagen, to say or speak.
dem: The, to the; dative form of definite article.
Dekan: Dean; academic official overseeing faculty or college.
mir: Me, to me; dative form of first person pronoun.
fehle: Lack, miss; subjunctive form of fehlen, to be missing.

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