Significance of The Military

The military manifests in two clearly defined ways in Letters to a Young Poet. At the beginning of the book, it comes across as a source of fear and confusion for Rilke and the Young Poet alike, while Rilke's first letter suggests that the Young Poet finds himself shaken up by his experiences with the armed forces. As the letters continue, however, the military's image softens, becoming for Rilke a trigger and an opportunity for meditation and self-exploration. As the letters conclude, Rilke depicts the military as a kind of armor, a protection for the Young Poet's inner, spiritual solitude, his connection with his inner, creative self. A tantalizing question raised by the end of the book is whether the Young Poet himself has come to see it that way.