Basic Information : Synopsis : Characters : Expectations : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References
Basic Information:
Author:
Rainer Maria Rilke
Edition:
ePub from Fresno County Library
Publisher:
Dover Publications
ISBN:
0486422453 (ISBN13: 9780486422459)
Start
Date: November 6, 2019
Read
Date: November 16, 2019
80
pages
Genre:
Essay, Personal Growth
Language
Warning: None
Rated
Overall: 4 1/2 out of 5
Religion:
Sort of a pre-New Age thoughts, influenced by Christian Europe, but
not quite Christian
Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):
The
poet Rilke wrote letters of instructions to a budding young poet over
a time span of about five years. Much of his advice has found its way
into various self-help books and guru’s.
Expectations:
- Date Became Aware of Book: Unknown
- How come do I want to read this book: I have seen this name in some of the books I have read. Whenever Rilke is quoted, the quotes are pretty deep.
- What do I think I will get out of it? Insight
Thoughts:
The
young poet looking for advice: Franz Xaver Kappus. an Austrian
military officer, journalist, editor and writer who wrote poetry,
short-stories, novels and screenplays. Did not achieve lasting fame,
except as the person who recieved Rilke’s letters. But he service i
the German military through WWI and was in Nazi Germany during WW II.
Forward
All
of us who labor in the arts know that it can be a lonely existence.
We often find ourselves living a life of solitary dreams,
disconnected from others, and driven by a vision that no one else
seems to value or share.
- Kent Merburn
These
letters are written from a middle aged poet (28-33) to a younger
poet,
Introduction
When
a truly great and unique spirit speaks, the lessor ones must be
silent
- Franz Xavier Kappus (the recipient of the letters.)
I.
February 17, 1903
Rilke
starts right off really humbly with telling Franz Xavier Kappus that
there was no much he could say to help him.
He
felt that criticism affects art less than almost anything else. Art
is beyond expression and are not easily understood, mysterious
entities. Poems are individual expression, else they are not really
poetry. When judged, they must be judged inwardly as an expression of
the author, not to be compared to other poets or the opinions of
publishers.
Is
writing something which Kappus needs to do or is it something like a
hobby? Is it an I must?
Write
from your life. If your life does not contain materials for writing,
then do not complain of life, complain about yourself. For
the creative artist there is no poverty—nothing is insignificant or
unimportant. Chesterton in
places echo’s this thought.
A
piece of art is good if it is born of necessity. This, its source, is
its criterion; there is no other.
II.
April 5, 1903
We
are unutterably alone, essentially especially in the things most
intimate and most important to us.
Several thoughts I have on
this sentence. Rilke captures a feeling of Christ on the Cross. But I
do not think he intends that. Rather the feeling that writing is a
solitary occupation. But to the Christian, you are never really all
alone, even if you feel that way. Rilke
points out that to advise is not to be taken lightly and to be
meaningful, several things must happen.
Irony-must
serve the artist, not control the person, and only during creative
moments. Also the intent must be pure-and I think not cynical. Do not
let irony be the dominant theme. Ask if the irony springs from the
true need of the person.
Who
is Jens Peter Jacobsen? Rilke says there are only two books indispensable to him: the Bible and Jacobsen’s work. Wikipedia:
a Danish novelist, poet, and scientist, in Denmark . He began the
naturalist movement in Danish literature and was a part of the Modern
Breakthrough.
III.
April 23, 1903
Advice
to the poet-read as little aesthetic critique as possible. Rilke
thinks that they represent either clever word games or petrified
opinions.
Works
of art can be described as having an essence of eternal solitude and
an understanding is attainable least of all by critique. Only love
can grasp and hold them and can judge them fairly.
He
says that rather than listen to critique, listen to his own inner
self. It will guide you to what you are trying to express. These
cannot be forced or hurried.
IV.
July 16, 1903
If
you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things
hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.
Rilke
notes that some letters are not immediately answered, but needs to be
reread again and again and again.
Even
the best writers can err in their expressions when they are asked to
interpret the fainest of impulses and that which is beyond words.
At
present, you need to live the question.
That is something which is hard to do. Sometimes one just wants an
answer without the search which gives the answer meaning.
We
can recall that all beauty in animals and plants is a silent and
enduring form of love and longing.
Spiritual
creativity originates from the physical.He
notes that they originate from the same place. Only thing the
spiritual is gentler.
V.
October 29, 1903
There
is much beauty here, because there is much beauty everywhere.
One
gradually learns to recognize the very few things in which eternity
dwells, which one can love, and solitude, of which one can softly
partake. He
goes on and talks about how he will move to
a new location in Italy, away from the bustle of a large city. There
he expects to enjoy silence.
VI.
December 23, 1903
Rilke
notes that one should be grateful for the feeling of loneness.
For what would
aloneness be, you ask yourself, if it did not possess greatness?
He goes on and says that it is not easily borne. Also that it is
unique-only he can bear his own aloneness, else it is not being
alone. This leads to inner solitude. There is wisdom here as being
alone can lead to certain realization. You are allowed to look at
yourself and others and separate out what is real and what is
superficial. He notes that as one becomes an adult, that ones
career is no longer linked with life.
I wonder if that happened to me during work? I wonder if this is
happening to me with retirement? That I no longer get linked to life?
Rilke’s answer is that one must go back and look at life like a
child. He states, why
would anyone exchange a child’s wise incomprehension for resistance
and disdain, since the incomprehension is aloneness, and resistance
and disdain are involvement in
the things you seek to escape from?
Interesting
question Rilke asks. Kappus says that he has lost his belief in God.
Rilke asks, if Kappus has really lost God. I take this to mean that
if you really believed in God, you cannot lose that? On the other
hand, Rilke is an atheist. Does Rilke mean that since there is no
God, there was none to be lost in the first place?
But
to go back to the previous paragraph, if you lost your sense of
wonder, have you really ever wondered? Rilke goes on and says that
if you lost God, did you ever possess him? One gets the feeling of a
idol which one can misplace rather than a infinite being who is there
waiting to be rediscovered by you when you are ready.
VII.
May 14, 1904
We
must embrace struggle. Every living thing conforms to it. Everything
in nature grows and struggles in its own way, establishing its own
identity.
It
is good to be lonely, for being alone is not easy. The fact that
something is difficult must be one more reason to do it.
To
love is also good, for love is difficult. For one human being to
love another is perhaps the most difficult task of all, the epitome,
the ultimate test.
He notes that young people do not know how to love-it is something to
be learnt. But don’t children love? Love their
parents? Love more freely than adults? Love must also have time set
aside for solitude. I do not think I understand his statement that to
love constantly and far into a lifespan is indeed aloneness,
heightened, and deepened aloneness for one who loves.
But doesn’t love need an object. The less concrete love is the less
it is love.
VIII.
August 12, 1904
How
could we be capable of forgetting the old myths that stand at the
threshold of all mankind, myths of dragons transforming themselves at
the last moment into princesses? Perhaps all dragons in our lives are
really just waiting to see us just once being beautiful and
courageous. I
wonder what myth he is referring to?
Apparently
Kappus has had some depressing and difficult times. Rilke notes that
didn’t Kappus change through going through these times? What did he
gain? He says that The
only sad experiences what are dangerous and bad arer those that one
reveals to people in order to drown them out. There
is a good phrase Rilke uses, that these times are moments
of tension.
He says that these moments are times where we stand in transition,
but we cannot remain there. His
advice to Kappus is that it
is so important to be alone and observant when one is sad.
... The quieter
and more patient, the more open we are when we are sad, the more
resolutely does that something new enter into us, the deeper it is
absorbed in us, ...
During
times of trial, we need to have the hope of a sick person of being
well and the optimism of one who is recuperating.
Self introspection is good, but Rilke’s advice is Do
not scrutinize yourself too closely. Do not draw conclusions too
quickly from that which is happening to you. Just allow it to happen.
When
you name something bad, be sure to name it appropriately. He notes
that naming something can be life-shattering. I am thinking of Desmond Tutu’s chapter on naming the hurt in his book The
Book of Forgiving.
Something
to remember being both the recipient and giver of advice: Do
not believe that the one who seeks to comfort you lives without
difficulty the simple and humble words that sometimes help you. His
life contains much grief and sadness and he remains far behind yuou.
Were it not so, he would not have found those words.
When giving advice, make sure I have the wisdom and maybe the
experience to back up those words.
IX.
November 4, 1904
It
is always my wish that you might find enough patience within yourself
to endure, and enough innocence to have faith... Believe me, life is
right in all cases. I
do not know what Rilke means by life
is right in all cases.
This seems to say that when a person gets cancer, that is OK. Or when
a a coyote devours a dog, that is OK. Or a rich man squashes a poor
one, that is OK.
Everything
that causes you to be more than you have been in your best hours is
right.
Your
doubt can become a good attribute if you discipline
it. It must become a knowing;
it must become the critic.
X.
December 26, 1908
The
silence must be immense where there is space for such sound and
movements.
Evaluation:
Letters
to a Young Poet is more than
just advice about how to write poetry. It is how do you look at life,
particularly when life is not always happy and gay. Rilke helps the
poet to work through his issues with sadness and loneliness. In
doing so, he gives sage words of wisdom to all who read his words.
Some
of Rilke’s words will now appear as trite and common-maybe because
so much of it has been used in modern self-help materials. But I can
only imagine what they said to the young poet at the time. In doing
so, and put in the context of letters, they give a force which I
appreciate. Well worth reading these 10 short letters.
Notes from my book group:
Why
did Rilke write these letter to Kappus?
Did
it matter that Kappus was an unknown? Also that as one entry in
Wikipedia notes that Kappus recedes into the background of history,
this being the only thing of fame?
Many
of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.
- Every work has a world view. Were you able to identify this work’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the presentation?
- In what context was religion talked about in this book?
- Was there anything you would consider religious?
- How was it shown?
- Was the book overtly religious?
- How did it affect the books presentation?
- Why do you think the author wrote this book?
- What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
- What “take aways” did you have from this book?
- What central ideas does the author present?
- Are they personal, sociological, global, political, economic, spiritual, medical, or scientific
- What evidence does the author use to support the book's ideas?
- Is the evidence convincing...definitive or...speculative?
- Does the author depend on personal opinion, observation, and assessment? Or is the evidence factual—based on science, statistics, historical documents, or quotations from (credible) experts?
- Are there solutions which the author presents?
- Do they seem workable? Practable?
- How would you implement them?
- Describe the culture talked about in the book.
- How is the culture described in this book different than where we live?
- What economic or political situations are described?
- Does the author examine economics and politics, family traditions, the arts, religious beliefs, language or food?
- How did this book affect your view of the world?
- Of how God is viewed?
- What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
- Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
- What was memorable?
Book References:
- Six Stories by Jen Pens Jacobsen
- Niels Lyhne by Jen Pens Jacobsen
- Marie Gruble by Jen Pens Jacobsen
Good Quotes:
- First Line: All of us who labor in the arts know that it can be a lonely existence. We often find ourselves living a life of solitary dreams, disconnected from others, and driven by a vision that no one else seems to value or share. - Kent Merburn, Introduction
- Last Line: May the year ahead of you keep and strengthen you in that resolve.
- When a truly great and unique spirit speaks, the lessor ones must be silent - Franz Xavier Kappus (the recipient of the letters.)
- A piece of art is good if it is born of necessity. This, its source, is its criterion; there is no other. I. February 17, 1903
- We are unutterably alone, essentially especially in the things most intimate and most important to us. Letter II. April 5, 1903
- If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable. IV. July 16, 1903
- At present, you need to live the question. IV. July 16, 1903
- We can recall that all beauty in animals and plants is a silent and enduring form of love and longing. IV. July 16, 1903
- Spiritual creativity originates from the physical. IV. July 16, 1903
- There is much beauty here, because there is much beauty everywhere. V. October 29, 1903
- One gradually learns to recognize the very few things in which eternity dwells, which one can love, and solitude, of which one can softly partake. V. October 29, 1903
- For what would aloneness be, you ask yourself, if it did not possess greatness? VI. December 23, 1903
- why would anyone exchange a child’s wise incomprehension for resistance and disdain, since the incomprehension is aloneness, and resistance and disdain are involvement in the things you seek to escape from? VI. December 23, 1903
- We must embrace struggle. Every living thing conforms to it. Everything in nature grows and struggles in its own way, establishing its own identity. VII. May 14, 1904
- It is good to be lonely, for being alone is not easy. The fact that something is difficult must be one more reason to do it. VII. May 14, 1904
- To love is also good, for love is difficult. For one human being to love another is perhaps the most difficult task of all, the epitome, the ultimate test. VII. May 14, 1904
- How could we be capable of forgetting the old myths that stand at the threshold of all mankind, myths of dragons transforming themselves at the last moment into princesses? Perhaps all dragons in our lives are really just waiting to see us just once being beautiful and courageous. VIII. August 12, 1904
- The only sad experiences what are dangerous and bad are those that one reveals to people in order to drown them out. VIII. August 12, 1904
- it is so important to be alone and observant when one is sad. ... The quieter and more patient, the more open we are when we are sad, the more resolutely does that something new enter into us, the deeper it is absorbed in us, ... VIII. August 12, 1904
- Do not scrutinize yourself too closely. Do not draw conclusions too quickly from that which is happening to you. Just allow it to happen. VIII. August 12, 1904
- Do not believe that the one who seeks to comfort you lives without difficulty the simple and humble words that sometimes help you. His life contains much grief and sadness and he remains far behind you. Were it not so, he would not have found those words. VIII. August 12, 1904
- Everything that causes you to be more than you have been in your best hours is right. IX. November 4, 1904
- Your doubt can become a good attribute if you discipline it. It must become a knowing; it must become the critic. IX. November 4, 1904
- The silence must be immense where there is space for such sound and movements. X. December 26, 1908
- Forward
- Introduction
- I. February 17, 1903
- II. April 5, 1903
- III. April 23, 1903
- IV. July 16, 1903
- V. October 29, 1903
- VI. December 23, 1903
- VII. May 14, 1904
- VIII. August 12, 1904
- IX. November 4, 1904
- X. December 26, 1908
References:
- Publisher's Web Site for Book
- Wikipedia-Book
- Wikipedia-Author
- Amazon-Book
- Amazon-Author
- GoodReads-Book
- GoodReads-Author
- Carrothers – he has digitalized his copy since he has given this book away several times.
- The Guardian’s thoughts
- Harvard blog on translating Rilke
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