‘Letters to a Young Poet’
From 1902 to 1908, Rilke exchanged several letters with Franz Xaver Kappus, or “Mr. Kappus,” a military cadet with a passion for poetry. As was the case with most budding poets, Kappus struggled with his vocation. To find a way out of his creative impasse, he asked Rilke for advice. Rilke had been traveling around Europe, but he was still willing to take Kappus under his wing.Although we don’t have Kappus’s letters, we can infer their content from Rilke’s replies. For example, the first letter shows that Kappus had asked Rilke to review his poetry as a magazine editor would. Rilke’s response was blunt: “You are looking outside, and that is what you should most avoid right now. No one can advise or help you.”
1. Embracing Solitude
At the heart of Rilke’s philosophy is the idea that true art emerges from solitude. That doesn’t mean that creative people must avoid all social interactions and become hermits. Rather, “solitude” means a life of inner reflection, where a person pauses to assess thoughts and emotions. This calm reflection is necessary to create art.In one of the most well-known letters, Rilke told Kappus that “There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write?” He followed that with “if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple ‘I must,’ then build your life in accordance with this necessity.”
Rilke thought that solitude alone could provide the space for to ask essential questions. While we often view solitude as an evil to avoid, Rilke saw it as a space for fostering a person’s artistic spirit. “Love your solitude,” he told Kappus, “and try to sing out with the pain it causes you.”
2. The Essential Role of Sincere Introspection
Rilke knew that self-discovery is difficult. Exploring parts of ourselves we may not want to express requires patience and courage. Yet he said, “Things that are so closely related to us, have through our daily defensiveness been so entirely pushed out of life that the senses with which we might have been able to grasp them have atrophied. To say nothing of God. But the fear of the inexplicable has not only impoverished the reality of the individual; it has also narrowed the relationship between one human being and another.”We should dare to ask “What is truth?” or “Who am I, really?” If we’re lucky, we‘ll glimpse partial answers. Even if we don’t, we’ll at least allow our hearts and minds to taste the necessary freedom that accompanies uncertainty. That’s why Rilke exhorted Kappus to confront all aspects of his life sincerely, from the most joyful to the most painful.
Although these existential questions affect all of life, they also have practical consequences for our vocations. Poetry, or any other craft, isn’t about pleasing others or achieving fame. It’s about expressing an inner truth that remains true regardless of others’ perceptions. Why are we doing what we do? Who are we trying to please? What is it for? Sincerity allows us to confront these necessary questions, be it in creating art or in any other endeavor.
Rilke understood the uncomfortable but rewarding nature of sincerity thanks to a series of challenging experiences. He endured a turbulent childhood at the mercy of his mentally unstable mother, fell in love with a woman he could never marry, and eventually suffered from leukemia until his passing. Art was a way for him to transform grief into beauty.
3. Nature as the Mirror of the Soul
One obvious place to find the solitude for sincere introspection is in nature. In an earnest remark on Kappus’s anxieties, Rilke invoked the healing power of the natural world: “Here, where I am surrounded by an enormous landscape, which the winds move across as they come from the seas, here I feel that there is no one anywhere who can answer for you those questions and feelings which, in their depths, have a life of their own.“If you trust in Nature ... then everything will become easier for you, more coherent and somehow more reconciling, not in your conscious mind perhaps, which stays behind, astonished, but in your innermost awareness, awakeness, and knowledge.”
Embracing the Artist Within
Rilke’s letters seem to address budding artists like Kappus. What about those of us who may not feel artistically inclined? Even though Rilke wrote directly to Kappus, his insights aren’t exclusive to writers or artists. The simple candor of his language turns lofty ideals into actionable advice for our everyday lives. As we navigate a chaotic world that shuns solitude, Rilke’s insights offer sober hope.
His vision of artistic creation invites us to explore the neglected depths of our psyche and soul. Whether we write, paint, play music, or simply live with an eye for beauty, art can help us cultivate a more profound relationship with ourselves and, ultimately, with others. Even if we don’t want to pour ourselves into art, solitude and sincerity will come in handy, if meaning in our lives is what we’re after.
