Rainer Maria Rilke

Poet, Novelist

Rainer Maria Rilke was a German poet known for his profound exploration of love, existence, and the human condition, particularly in works like 'The Duino Elegies.'

Born
September 4, 1875
Died
December 29, 1926
Quotes
487
Rank
#71

About Rainer Maria Rilke

Rainer Maria Rilke — Life and Legacy

Rainer Maria Rilke, a pivotal figure in 20th-century literature, is celebrated for his deep and introspective poetry that delves into themes of love, existence, and the complexities of human emotion. His major work, 'The Duino Elegies,' showcases his unique ability to articulate the struggle between the tangible and the spiritual, reflecting a profound inner conflict. Rilke's famous assertion that 'love consists in this: that two solitudes protect and touch each other' encapsulates his belief in the necessity of individual depth for genuine connection. His exploration of solitude is particularly noteworthy; Rilke argued that true understanding and creativity emerge from moments of isolation, where one can confront the self without distraction. This perspective is evident in his letters to a young poet, where he encourages embracing solitude as a path to artistic authenticity. Rilke's insights challenge conventional views on relationships, emphasizing that love is not merely a bond but a transformative force that reveals deeper truths about existence. Today, Rilke's quotes resonate with readers, offering a lens through which to navigate the complexities of life and relationships. His ability to articulate the nuances of human experience continues to inspire those seeking meaning in their own lives.

Quote collection

Rainer Maria Rilke quotes (page 1 of 25)

487 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it."

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"The highest form of love is to be the protector of another person’s solitude."

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"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."

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"Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows."

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"I would like to beg of you, dear friend, as well as I can, to have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night. These are the words we dimly hear: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. Flare up like a flame and make big shadows I can move in. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don't let yourself lose me. Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand."

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"Perhaps somewhere, someplace deep inside your being, you have undergone important changes while you were sad."

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"Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, what batters you becomes your strength. Move back and forth into the change. What is it like, such intensity of pain? If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine. In this uncontainable night, be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses, the meaning discovered there. And if the world has ceased to hear you, say to the silent earth: I flow. To the rushing water, speak: I am."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"Where something becomes extremely difficult and unbearable, there we also stand always already quite near its transformation."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"This is what the things can teach us: to fall, patiently to trust our heaviness. Even a bird has to do that before he can fly."

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Rainer Maria Rilke Poet, Novelist
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"But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths."

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"If we surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees."

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"and I circle ten thousand years long; And I still don't know if I'm a falcon, a storm, or an unfinished song"

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"We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it."

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"When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everthing in me that is bewildered and confused."

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"Do not assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, he would never have been able to find these words."

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