Initiation
Initiation - context Summary
Published 1902 in Das Buch Der Bilder
Published in 1902 in Das Buch der Bilder, Rilke’s "Initiation" addresses a solitary, ritualized awakening. The speaker urges an unnamed listener to leave their room at evening, look up at a lone tree, and through that simple outward gesture experience a sudden inner vision of Life. The poem stages a quiet threshold moment: observation becomes knowledge, then the eyes gently withdraw as the glimpse settles into consciousness.
Read Complete AnalysesWhosoever thou art! Out in the evening roam, Out from thy room thou know'st in every part, And far in the dim distance leave thy home, Whosoever thou art. Lift thine eyes which lingering see The shadows on the foot-worn threshold fall, Lift thine eyes slowly to the great dark tree That stands against heaven, solitary, tall, And thou hast visioned Life, its meanings rise Like words that in the silence clearer grow; As they unfold before thy will to know Gently withdraw thine eyes—
Translated by Jessie Lamont
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