Rilke's Book of Hours
He begins his poems with a negative tone
But there is a positive affirmation of God’s creation
Indirectly affirms the beauty of divine image
As he laments, “Disguised since childhood”
Though one bears the image of God
One comes of age as masks.
And wearing masks is a false creation
As masks are man-made and not God-made.
Wearing masks is a false creation, a false self
That began “Since childhood” as they are
Constructed for survival and success.
Then at the end Rilke imagines a location
Of storehouses where all these lives are laid away.
But the remote location requires a journey
It’s a journey of repentance
But it is our own emptiness of” Suits of armor
old carriages and clothes hanging limply on the wall
All images of emptiness.
For Rilke, God is most intimate, most personal
He speaks to Him as if they stand side by side.
Rilke once said
Religion is the art of those who are not creative
But he, himself, failed to represent God in his poetry
So he tried to transform his art into his poetry.
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*A myth developed about his death "Gathering roses from his garden,He pricked his hand on a thorn, both arms swollen and affected and he died.
His Epitaph
“Rose, oh pure contradiction,delight
of being no one’s sleep under so
many lids”
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April 23, 2014
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Contest: Rilke's Book of Hours by Mystic Rose
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