... at the beginning of the Modernist period, yet both have very similar ideas about a poet's dedication to "things." Whitman believed that a poet's thoughts were "hymns of praise" (1855 preface to Leaves of Grass) to things, and Rilke believed that a poet had to "win the confidence" (Letters to a Young Poet) of things. Both poets also felt that we have to reach a certain ... . Rilke connected us all through a "life source" as well. His life source was what we were missing about the world, but could never achieve. It is in "the way a fountain's / falling is caught by its next jet as though i...

• Word Count: 2891
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... leaf/ The chestnut pattering to the ground" (11.1-4).  His natural surroundings are quiet, which he feels are suited to this stage in his grief. It is fall and the leaves are falling off the tree along with the chestnuts. Still there is imagery of death and dying. It is quiet but the world to him is dying. A particular moving part of the ... ...

• Word Count: 5237
• Approx Pages: 21
• Grade Level: High School