The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 7
"
"
The sunlight slipped over the polished leaves.
Das Sonnenlicht glitt über die glänzenden Blätter.
In the grass, white daisies were tremulous.
Im Gras zitterten weiße Gänseblümchen.
After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
Nach einer Pause zog Lord Henry seine Uhr heraus.
"Well, I will tell you what it is.
„Nun, ich werde Ihnen sagen, worum es geht.
I want you to explain to me why you won't exhibit Dorian Gray's picture.
Ich möchte, dass Sie mir erklären, warum Sie Dorian Grays Bild nicht ausstellen wollen.
"No, you did not.
„Nein, das haben Sie nicht.
You said it was because there was too much of yourself in it.
Sie sagten, es sei, weil zu viel von Ihnen selbst darin stecke.
The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion.
Das Modell ist lediglich der Zufall, der Anlass.
It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.
Nicht er wird vom Maler enthüllt; es ist vielmehr der Maler, der sich auf der bemalten Leinwand selbst offenbart.
Vocabulary
- Das
- Neuter definite article meaning 'the'.
- Sonnenlicht
- Sunlight; the light emitted by the sun.
- glitt
- Past tense of gleiten; glided or slid smoothly.
- über
- Preposition meaning over, above, or across.
- die
- Feminine/plural definite article meaning 'the'.
- glänzenden
- Shining, gleaming; adjective describing a bright surface.
- Blätter
- Leaves of a plant or pages of a book.
- Im
- Contraction of 'in dem'; in the.
- Gras
- Grass; green ground-covering plant.
- zitterten
- Past tense of zittern; trembled or quivered.
- weiße
- White; adjective describing a white-colored thing.
- Gänseblümchen
- Daisies; small white wildflowers common in meadows.
- Nach
- Preposition meaning after or following in time.
- einer
- Indefinite article in dative feminine form; a/an.
- Pause
- Pause or break; a temporary stop in activity.
- zog
- Past tense of ziehen; pulled or drew out.
- seine
- His; possessive pronoun referring to a male subject.
- Uhr
- Clock or watch; a device for measuring time.
- heraus
- Out; directional adverb indicating outward movement.
- Nun
- Now or well; adverb used to introduce a statement.
- ich
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- werde
- Will; future auxiliary verb form of werden.
- Ihnen
- You (formal dative); indirect object polite form.
- sagen
- To say or tell; common verb of speech.
- worum
- What about; interrogative asking about a topic.
- es
- It; third-person neuter subject or object pronoun.
- geht
- Goes; third-person singular of gehen; es geht um means 'it concerns'.
- Ich
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- möchte
- Would like; polite modal verb expressing a wish.
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause.
- Sie
- You (formal) or they; polite second-person pronoun.
- mir
- Me (dative); first-person singular indirect object.
- erklären
- To explain; to make something clear to someone.
- warum
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason.
- Bild
- Picture or portrait; a painted or drawn image.
- nicht
- Not; negation adverb negating a verb or adjective.
- ausstellen
- To exhibit or display; to show publicly in a gallery.
- wollen
- To want; modal verb expressing desire or intention.
- Nein
- No; negative response or contradiction.
- das
- That/the; neuter article or demonstrative pronoun.
- haben
- To have; auxiliary and main verb of possession.
- sagten
- Said; past tense plural of sagen.
- sei
- Be; subjunctive form of sein used in indirect speech.
- weil
- Because; subordinating conjunction giving a reason.
- zu
- Too/to; preposition or adverb of degree.
- viel
- Much or a lot; adjective indicating a large amount.
- von
- Of or from; preposition indicating origin or possession.
- selbst
- Himself/itself/oneself; reflexive intensifying pronoun.
- darin
- In it or therein; adverb referring to something inside.
- stecke
- Is contained/stuck; subjunctive of stecken, to be inside.
- Modell
- Model; a person who poses for an artist.
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of sein.
- lediglich
- Merely or only; adverb limiting or restricting a statement.
- der
- Masculine definite article or relative pronoun meaning 'the'.
- Zufall
- Coincidence or chance; an accidental or random occurrence.
- Anlass
- Occasion or cause; a reason or triggering event.
- Nicht
- Not; negation used here for emphasis or contrast.
- er
- He; third-person masculine singular subject pronoun.
- wird
- Will/becomes; future or passive auxiliary form of werden.
- vom
- Contraction of von dem; from the or by the.
- Maler
- Painter; an artist who creates paintings.
- enthüllt
- Revealed or unveiled; disclosed what was hidden.
- vielmehr
- Rather or instead; adverb introducing a contrasting statement.
- sich
- Himself/itself; reflexive pronoun for third-person subjects.
- auf
- On or onto; preposition indicating surface or direction.
- bemalten
- Painted; adjective describing a canvas covered with paint.
- Leinwand
- Canvas; fabric surface used for painting pictures.
- offenbart
- Reveals or manifests; discloses something previously hidden.
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