Put Out My Eyes
Put Out My Eyes - meaning Summary
Love Beyond the Body
Rilke presents a speaker who insists love survives even when the body is disabled. Using a series of hypothetical mutilations, the poem argues that sight, hearing, speech, limbs, and even the heart cannot prevent the lover’s inner perception and devotion. Imagery—heart as hand, brain carrying love on the blood—portrays love as an autonomous, spiritual force that outlasts bodily function and sensory access.
Read Complete AnalysesPut out my eyes, and I can see you still, Slam my ears to, and I can hear you yet; And without any feet can go to you; And tongueless, I can conjure you at will. Break off my arms, I shall take hold of you And grasp you with my heart as with a hand; Arrest my heart, my brain will beat as true; And if you set this brain of mine afire, Then on my blood-stream I yet will carry you.
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