Rainer Maria Rilke Analysis

Rainer Maria Rilke once said, “There are so many things about which some old man ought to tell one while one is little; for when one is grown one would know them as a matter of course.” Rilke himself did not have the healthiest relationship with his parents as a child; his father was a failed military officer turned railway official, and his mother neglected him, too busy mourning for the loss of her firstborn, who lived only a week. At a young age, Rilke was sent to military school by his parents, only to be transferred to a preparatory school by his uncle, who recognized his talent for writing. Many of Rilke’s poems characterize the relationship between the parent and child, describing the ways in which both should behave, in an attempt
In Rilke’s poem, juxtaposing diction is used as a teaching device by the creator, helping the created learn to navigate the spectrum of life experiences in a healthy way. On the other hand, Shelley uses opposing diction to show the consequences to the created when the creator displays no interest in teaching these lessons. In “Gott spricht zu jedem nur, eh er ihn macht,” Rilke describes the creation of humans, saying that “G-d speaks to each of us as he makes us,” before walking us “silently out of the night.” Rilke contrasts the words “speaks” and “silently” to emphasize the importance of balance in a child’s life, arguing that a parent must be protective of their child, yet still allow them the freedom to experience the world for themselves. Additionally, Rilke addresses the created directly, instructing them to “let everything happen to you: beauty and terror,” leading to a myriad of life experiences and aiding the created in becoming a well-rounded person. In particular, Rilke focuses on the juxtaposition between “beauty”, which has a positive connotation, and “terror”, which has a negative connotation. Despite the opposite meanings of the words, both have the same number of syllables, and in both, pronunciation emphasizes the second syllable, connecting back to the encapsulating term “everything” used by Rilke earlier. The broadness of this term is yet another argument of Rilke’s, saying that the good and the bad come together, and that one must learn to succeed in spite of either one. Rilke places responsibility on the creator to ensure he teaches the created to respond positively to “everything”, speaking as the creator when he writes, “give me your hand.” The idea of the created reaching up, towards the creator, and the creator reciprocating with his own hand is Rilke’s final line of the poem. By choosing to end with the word “hand,” Rilke leaves readers with a powerful message: the