... . It is also apparent that since Rilke saw angels (and animals) as such an aloof, impossible standard to live up to, there was no way to achieve their "unfiltered" view of the world. To Rilke, finding God was finding true enlightenment in the world. The same was true of Whitman. Whitman, however, did not see so many impossible standards to emulate. Whitman believed that religious ... [an unborn child]? Ah, there was no caution in that sleeping child; sleeping But dreaming, but fevered: what he left himself in for! (The Third Elegy, p. 197) Rilke uses this passage to identify the importan...

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• Grade Level: High School