Night (This Night, Agitated by the Growing Storm)
Night (This Night, Agitated by the Growing Storm) - meaning Summary
Night as Persistent Reality
Rilke’s poem contemplates a night that suddenly enlarges under a gathering storm, revealing hidden dimensions of experience. The speaker senses forces beyond familiar markers—stars, forests, faces, even a beloved’s presence—and watches human light falter as lamps sway. The central question is whether our perceived light is trustworthy, or if night, in its mysterious endurance, is the more fundamental reality that has persisted through millennia.
Read Complete AnalysesThis night, agitated by the growing storm, how it has suddenly expanded its dimensions--, that ordinarily would have gone unnoticed, like a cloth folded, and hidden in the folds of time. Where the stars give resistance it does not stop there, neither does it begin within the forest's depths, nor show upon the surface of my face nor with your appearance. The lamps keep swaying, fully unaware: is our light lying? Is night the only reality that has endured through thousands of years?
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