Rainer Maria Rilke
Interpretation
by Lee Magness
The Departure of the Prodigal Son
To go forth now
from all the entanglement
that is ours and yet not ours,
that, like the water in an old well,
reflects us in fragments, distorts what we are.
From all that clings
like burrs and brambles--
to go forth
and see for once, close up, afresh,
what we had ceased to see--
so familiar it had become.
To glimpse how vast and how impersonal
is the suffering that filled your childhood.
Yes, to go forth,
hand pulling away from hand.
Go forth to what? To uncertainty,
to a country with no connections to us
and indifferent to the dramas of our life.
What drives you to go forth?
Impatience, instinct, a dark need,
the incapacity to understand.
To bow to all this.
To let go--
even if you have to die alone.
Is this the start of a new life?
To go forth now
from all the entanglement
that is ours and yet not ours,
that, like the water in an old well,
reflects us in fragments, distorts what we are.
From all that clings
like burrs and brambles--
to go forth
and see for once, close up, afresh,
what we had ceased to see--
so familiar it had become.
To glimpse how vast and how impersonal
is the suffering that filled your childhood.
Yes, to go forth,
hand pulling away from hand.
Go forth to what? To uncertainty,
to a country with no connections to us
and indifferent to the dramas of our life.
What drives you to go forth?
Impatience, instinct, a dark need,
the incapacity to understand.
To bow to all this.
To let go--
even if you have to die alone.
Is this the start of a new life?
Answers:
1) To "go forth" is the dominant phrase of the poem. How many times does it appear? To what does it refer?
The phrase, which appears 5 times in the short poem, refers to the desire of the prodigal son to leave his home, the decision which dominates the action of Jesus' parable as much as it does the poem.
2) What is suggested about the prodigal's evaluation of his life by such words and phrases as "entanglement," "ours
and yet not ours," "water in an old well," "reflects us in fragments," "distorts what we are," "clings like burrs and
brambles"?
When the younger son describes his life at home as an "entanglement," he is probably referring to the complicated relationships rather than the demanding responsibilities. The parable is ultimately about relationships. "Ours and yet not ours" may refer to the younger son's sense that control of the estate and its resources will someday be his, but he will have to wait. "Water in an old well" may suggest the staleness he experiences, while "reflects us in fragments" and "distorts what we are" implies a lack of fulfillment. "Clings like burrs and brambles" describes how hard it is to escape his current life and its "entanglements."
3) What does he hope to "see," "glimpse" in the far country?
It's hard to know just what the dissatisfied narrator of the poem hopes to "see" in the far country. It is something new, "afresh," but it is something what he once was but had "ceased to be," something that he had lost by its becoming too "familiar." There is also the suggestion of escape from suffering, although the pronoun inexplicably changes from "our" to "your." All in all it appears that the narrator wishes to "see," experience a renewed meaning and vitality which he once had but had been lost in the increasingly stale, unfulfilling entanglements of his relationships with his family. We could certainly imagine such thoughts in the mind of the prodigal of the parable, even though Jesus mentions no such motives.
4) What line suggests that leave-taking will be hard?
"Hand pulling away from hand" suggests either that it will be hard for the family to let the traveler go or vice versa or both. Home has its pull, even when one wants to leave it, as Jesus' parable implies.
5) What does he expect to find in the far country?
The person "going forth" in this poem is expecting and evidently welcoming some "uncertainty" in his life, perhaps after years of predictability at home. Given the strangling effect of relationships back home, he also welcomes the experience of disconnectedness, where no one knows him and no one cares about him and all the little "dramas" of his former life. It remains to be seen of course whether a life of uncertainly, disconnectedness, and uncaring would be fulfilling for very long.
6) What "drives" him to leave home? Why would he characterize his "instinct" as a "dark need"?
His motive for leaving home is a deep "impatience," not unusual in a young person, a fairly common "instinct" to be on one's own, making one's own decisions, even if they are bad decisions. "Dark need" may suggest that the narrator is eager to experiment with behaviors that he knows to be wrong or self-destructive--sins--but the phrase may refer only to an inexplicable need for independence.
7) How do you read the last line?
The last line is ambiguous. It could suggest a certain hopefulness that life in the far country will provide a fresh start for a more fulfilling life. On the other hand, it may suggest a deep uncertainty about whether his precipitous decision will improve his situation in any way. The parable seems to provide an answer to this uncertainty even if the poem does not.
1) To "go forth" is the dominant phrase of the poem. How many times does it appear? To what does it refer?
The phrase, which appears 5 times in the short poem, refers to the desire of the prodigal son to leave his home, the decision which dominates the action of Jesus' parable as much as it does the poem.
2) What is suggested about the prodigal's evaluation of his life by such words and phrases as "entanglement," "ours
and yet not ours," "water in an old well," "reflects us in fragments," "distorts what we are," "clings like burrs and
brambles"?
When the younger son describes his life at home as an "entanglement," he is probably referring to the complicated relationships rather than the demanding responsibilities. The parable is ultimately about relationships. "Ours and yet not ours" may refer to the younger son's sense that control of the estate and its resources will someday be his, but he will have to wait. "Water in an old well" may suggest the staleness he experiences, while "reflects us in fragments" and "distorts what we are" implies a lack of fulfillment. "Clings like burrs and brambles" describes how hard it is to escape his current life and its "entanglements."
3) What does he hope to "see," "glimpse" in the far country?
It's hard to know just what the dissatisfied narrator of the poem hopes to "see" in the far country. It is something new, "afresh," but it is something what he once was but had "ceased to be," something that he had lost by its becoming too "familiar." There is also the suggestion of escape from suffering, although the pronoun inexplicably changes from "our" to "your." All in all it appears that the narrator wishes to "see," experience a renewed meaning and vitality which he once had but had been lost in the increasingly stale, unfulfilling entanglements of his relationships with his family. We could certainly imagine such thoughts in the mind of the prodigal of the parable, even though Jesus mentions no such motives.
4) What line suggests that leave-taking will be hard?
"Hand pulling away from hand" suggests either that it will be hard for the family to let the traveler go or vice versa or both. Home has its pull, even when one wants to leave it, as Jesus' parable implies.
5) What does he expect to find in the far country?
The person "going forth" in this poem is expecting and evidently welcoming some "uncertainty" in his life, perhaps after years of predictability at home. Given the strangling effect of relationships back home, he also welcomes the experience of disconnectedness, where no one knows him and no one cares about him and all the little "dramas" of his former life. It remains to be seen of course whether a life of uncertainly, disconnectedness, and uncaring would be fulfilling for very long.
6) What "drives" him to leave home? Why would he characterize his "instinct" as a "dark need"?
His motive for leaving home is a deep "impatience," not unusual in a young person, a fairly common "instinct" to be on one's own, making one's own decisions, even if they are bad decisions. "Dark need" may suggest that the narrator is eager to experiment with behaviors that he knows to be wrong or self-destructive--sins--but the phrase may refer only to an inexplicable need for independence.
7) How do you read the last line?
The last line is ambiguous. It could suggest a certain hopefulness that life in the far country will provide a fresh start for a more fulfilling life. On the other hand, it may suggest a deep uncertainty about whether his precipitous decision will improve his situation in any way. The parable seems to provide an answer to this uncertainty even if the poem does not.
