The Unicorn
The Unicorn - meaning Summary
Encounter with the Wondrous
Rilke's poem describes a humble saint who suddenly beholds a legendary unicorn. The creature appears silent, radiant, and otherworldly, its physical perfection and shy gait conveying purity and mystery. The unicorn's eyes seem to hold vanished vistas, suggesting a bridge between the sacred present and distant, lost worlds. The scene evokes wonder, reverence, and a sense that the miraculous briefly intersects ordinary devotion.
Read Complete AnalysesThe saintly hermit, midway through his prayers stopped suddenly, and raised his eyes to witness the unbelievable: for there before him stood the legendary creature, startling white, that had approached, soundlessly, pleading with his eyes. The legs, so delicately shaped, balanced a body wrought of finest ivory. And as he moved, his coat shone like reflected moonlight. High on his forehead rose the magic horn, the sign of his uniqueness: a tower held upright by his alert, yet gentle, timid gait. The mouth of softest tints of rose and grey, when opened slightly, revealed his gleaming teeth, whiter than snow. The nostrils quivered faintly: he sought to quench his thirst, to rest and find repose. His eyes looked far beyond the saint's enclosure, reflecting vistas and events long vanished, and closed the circle of this ancient mystic legend.
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