Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926) is considered as one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. His poetry is known for its intense lyricism, innovative language and philosophic and aesthetic ideas. His poetry attempted to steer a course between conventional religion and narrow nationalism.
About the Poem
The poem expresses the elusiveness of childhood memories and the failure of words in capturing them in poetry. The poem begins with an introspective manner and ponders on how can one express the long lost childhood memories. Looking back to childhood from an adult position is not the same as being in that time period.
Poet is reminded of childhood by certain things. It might be a random moment, or a thing, or even a sound or smell that brings us back to our childhood. It is unexplainable how these things take us back to our childhood.
Poem goes on to describe how the experience of childhood was. The poet says that childhood was the time when nothing happened to us but to things around us. This idea shows how unaware we were of ourselves and when we grew older how we became too much aware of our own selves.
In the following stanza, the poem describes the complexities of growing up and the loneliness that accompanies us once we grow up. As one looks back at the picture sequence of his childhood, he is struggling in the middle of uncertainty for the future. This shows how the path of life gets harder as we grow up.
Through four stanzas of the poem, ‘Childhood’ explores through the idea of one's looking back to his childhood, the complexities of growing up and the ambiguities lying ahead in the future.
The poem expresses the elusiveness of childhood memories and the failure of words in capturing them in poetry. The poem begins with an introspective manner and ponders on how can one express the long lost childhood memories. Looking back to childhood from an adult position is not the same as being in that time period.
Poet is reminded of childhood by certain things. It might be a random moment, or a thing, or even a sound or smell that brings us back to our childhood. It is unexplainable how these things take us back to our childhood.
Poem goes on to describe how the experience of childhood was. The poet says that childhood was the time when nothing happened to us but to things around us. This idea shows how unaware we were of ourselves and when we grew older how we became too much aware of our own selves.
In the following stanza, the poem describes the complexities of growing up and the loneliness that accompanies us once we grow up. As one looks back at the picture sequence of his childhood, he is struggling in the middle of uncertainty for the future. This shows how the path of life gets harder as we grow up.
Through four stanzas of the poem, ‘Childhood’ explores through the idea of one's looking back to his childhood, the complexities of growing up and the ambiguities lying ahead in the future.
Prepared by Khadeeja Abdulsalam
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