4. CBCS 401 Rilke's Childhood (8)

1.The poem laments the passage of time. Discuss.

Or,

Comment on the theme of childhood in the poem.

A:- Rainer Maria Rilke was an Austro-German poet and philosopher. He had an unhappy childhood. His father compelled him to join a military boarding academy to become a military officer and he could not continue his military education and his parents were divorced.

The poem “Childhood” is taken from Rainer Maria Rilke’s book titled “The Book of Pictures”. In this poem Rilke speaks about two themes namely ‘loneliness’ and ‘passage of time’. The narrator had an unhappy childhood days. So he says that he had long childhood afternoons. Those days are completely vanished now because those were sad days. He had an unhappy childhood. His father compelled him to join a military boarding academy to become a military officer and he could not continue his military education and his parents were divorced.

The poem “childhood” laments the speedy passage of time. Although his childhood days were very happy for the narrator, its speedy disappearance makes him sad and bewildered. He is reminded of his lost childhood days when rain comes. The rainfall acts as catalyst and in its presence he remembers his unhappy childhood days, when he met lots and lots of people, reunions and many pictures of the  childhood days filled his heart.

 He feels like a lonely shepherd who is far away grazing his sheep and he has no companions to play with and talk and spend time in merry making. The poet is bewildered at his uncertain future and the speedy passage of time. As he grows up, he is like a long thread into the picture-sequence of life. He has to face life with all its hard realities and complexities. He does not know how to overcome these difficulties and problems of life. This is why he feels bewildered. Now when he turns back, his childhood days are completely disappeared. He does not know how it happened. There is a proverb “Time and tide waits for none”. The speaker laments the speedy passage of time.

2. What is the major theme of the poem?

A:- The poem 'The childhood' is different from other nostalgic poems because of the isolation and disturbed feel it gives. The poet was the only child of german-speaking parents in Prague. Rilke’s father had compelled him to attend a military boarding school academy to become an officer. The boy was unhealthy and found this beyond his capacity. So he left this Academy without completing. All these added adverse effect on his education and childhood. For addition his parents got divorced. He found it difficult to be in a close friendship with someone as the majority were Czech speaking.  All these made his childhood unhappy. The major theme of the poem is loneliness and passage of time.

3. What is the importance of the poem? 

A:- Childhood is included in the collection of poems thus Das Buch der Bilder published in 1902. The title of the volume was translated as ‘The Book of Images’ or ‘The Book of Pictures’. The poem reflects the typical tone and theme of Rilke’s poetry.

4. Comment on the rhyming pattern.

A:- The poem is divided into three stanzas with no specific rhyming pattern which enhances the disturbed mood of the poem.

5. Comment on the first stanza.

A:- In the first stanza, poet says that before you try to find some words about something lost, it would be good to give much thought. The long childhood afternoons that vanished so completely signifies that the poet was so bored and lonely in his childhood. Hence he used the word long. He questions why too which delivers unclear thoughts.

6. Explain the second stanza.

A:- In the second stanza, rain acts as a catalyst to generate old thoughts of the poet. Life was filled with meetings and reunions, comings and goings and passage. He met new people. All these had never filled his life again.

7. Explain the third stanza.

A:- Third stanza says that he was a child. Nothing really happened to him except what happened to things and creatures. They lived in the world as something human here. It means children had got no value for their opinion, views and wishes. They were just going with the flow and filled to the brim with figures.

8. Explain the fourth stanza.

A:- In the fourth stanza poet chooses the simile lonely as a Shepherd to make us feel the loneliness he faced. As the shepherd moves from place to place having no one to talk with the poet too moves on. Then he uses another simile like a long new thread introduced into that picture sequence. Thinking about the future bewilders the poet. He ghave to go through a lot. But he is not well equipped with it. The poem ends in an empty mood.