Emily Miner

 

Rilke Poems

 

“On the Verge of Night” (Am Rande der Nacht)

 

When I read this poem, I saw it as having two parts, separated by the line “Ich soll,” (I must).  Rilke uses the metaphor of a violin string to describe the way she feels she relates to the world.  She is a “string” stretched over a violin body, which represents “Things.”  The hollow vibrating chamber of the violin is compared to the “dreams of weeping women,” and “the grumbling of whole generations.”  Rilke says that if she were to “vibrate” she would cause everything down in that dark hollow to vibrate as well and begin to stretch toward the light.  She would cause the “things” in the darkness to try to overcome their faults (was in den Dingen irrt). 

 

Despite all this seemingly uplifting language about one’s actions inspiring others to action, the poem has and underlying discouraging tone.  This is evidenced by the transitional line “Ich soll.”  The English version translates it as “I must,” but in the German version seems to mean “I should,” ”I should but I won’t or I can’t.”  Other evidence of the pessimistic nature of this poem is the phrase “Abrgründe ohne Ende (abysses without end).”  Ending the poem with this phrase leaves the reader on a discouraging note.

 

“Archaic Torso of Apollo” (Archäischer Torso Apollos)

 

This poem is interesting because one normally does not imagine something lifeless, like a statue, offering one a lesson on how to live one’s life.  Rilke goes to great lengths to describe the inspiring brilliance that determinedly radiates forth from this torso.  Without this inner light or essence, the statue would be only that, a statue, a lifeless piece of stone.  The message of this poem is that people are no different:  without drive, soul, inner strength, whatever you want to call it, they are just as lifeless as a statue.

 

“The Panther” (Der Panther)

 

The description of the monotony of captivity that is breaking the panther’s spirit is enhanced by the rhyme scheme of the poem.  It is simple and repetitive, with no unpredictability, much like the life of an animal in captivity.  Some translations preserve this effect better than others.  The Norton translation almost completely abandons the rhyme scheme, which I felt subtracted significantly from the effect of the poem.

 

“Annunciation to Mary” (Mariä Verkündigung)

 

Rilke is often classified as a Modernist poet, but I don’t think that classification fits for this poem.  He seems to uphold the traditional perception of Mary as pure and sinless.  The way he described the moment where Mary’s gaze met the angel’s gave me the impression that the angel was just as shocked by Mary’s purity as she was of his. “Und sie erschraken beide (and they both were startled)” is an unusual way to describe a human’s contact with an angel.  Usually, the human is the only one described as being shocked.

 

The rhythm of the poem helps bring the reader into the scene.  It starts out slowly and calmly, and then escalates as the angel enters and meets Mary’s gaze.  Then just before the angel sings his message, there is a stanza break, the only one in the entire poem.  This gives a reader a sense of the anticipation Mary would have felt in this situation.

 

„Exposed on the Heart’s Mountains“ (Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens)

 

Honestly, I don’t think I understand this poem.  All I can gather from it is that this place on the mountains of the heart is beyond words (die letzte Ortschaft der Worte) and beyond feelings (ein letztes Gehöft von Gefühl).

 

“Love Song” (Liebes-Lied)

 

The use of metaphor in this poem is what struck me first.  The description of the two lovers as two violin strings that produce one voice was especially effective.  Some of the translations preserve that line better than others.  I thought the Leishman and the Flemming poems translated that line best, because they focused on the idea that though the two people (strings) are separate, they are really one, and like two notes which make a chord, they are each bettered by the other.  The two last questions of the poem convey the idea that this love is bigger than the two lovers.  They do not have power over it; it controls them.  Metaphorically speaking they are the musicians, but not the composers of this love song. 

 

Questions to Consider:

1)     What is the job of translation?  Is it more important to preserve the literal meaning or the symbolic meaning of a poem?  Is the goal of translation to preserve the sensation the reader gets from reading the poem, or to preserve the way the reader gets that sensation (rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc.).

2)     Rilke is sometimes classified as a Modernist poet.  Based on these poems, does this classification fit?

3)     Rilke often writes about solitude, anxiety, and religious uncertainty.  Is there evidence of this selection of poems?  Where?

4)     What poetic devices does Rilke commonly use?  What effect do they have on the meaning of the poem?  Are any of them lost in translation?