Rainer Maria Rilke
"The Departure of the Prodigal Son"
A Study Guide by Lee Magness
Read the Rilke poem, "The Departure of the Prodigal Son," carefully and repeatedly. You might even try reading it aloud. Then answer the questions that follow the poem.
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?
Answer the following questions:
1) To "go forth" is the dominant phrase of the poem. How many times does it appear? To what does it refer?
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"?
3) What does he hope to "see," "glimpse" in the far country?
4) What line suggests that leave-taking will be hard?
5) What does he expect to find in the far country?
6) What "drives" him to leave home? Why would he characterize his "instinct" as a "dark need"?
7) How do you read the last line?
After considering your answers to these questions, you may want to read the instructor's interpretations and insights
by clicking this link.
1) To "go forth" is the dominant phrase of the poem. How many times does it appear? To what does it refer?
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"?
3) What does he hope to "see," "glimpse" in the far country?
4) What line suggests that leave-taking will be hard?
5) What does he expect to find in the far country?
6) What "drives" him to leave home? Why would he characterize his "instinct" as a "dark need"?
7) How do you read the last line?
After considering your answers to these questions, you may want to read the instructor's interpretations and insights
by clicking this link.