Book 1, The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke : Chapter 6, Uncollected Poems Summary

This batch of 12 poems comes from the years 1913 - 1918. Some have their own titles; whereas, others have been named by their first line. It is divided into 3 parts, each with its own Roman Numeral. As usual, there has been some loss between the translations, but much of the value has been transferred successfully.

The poem "Ariel" is so named after a fictional character. Ariel was a character in a play. "The Tempest," written by the English playwright Shakespeare. "Ariel" is two stanzas long, the first far longer than the second.

After Ariel there is "Straining so hard against the strength of night." Here are a few lines from late in the poem: "We ignore the gods and fill our minds with trash. / For...