Poetry from the Garden - Rilke and Yeats (2 poems this time) part 3
Welcome back to another episode of Poetry From the Garden - this time featuring two poems.
The first poem I chose is one translation of “Falling Stars” by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke
The second poem is “Never Give All the Heart by William Butler (W.B) Yeats
In researching this poem a little more, I discovered that the woman who inspired this poem was named Maud Gonne. Yeats was infatuated with her for most of his life, repeatedly begging her to marry him and even going as far as to ask for her daughter’s hand in marriage. Maud once famously told him that the world should thank her for not marrying him, because his unhappiness made him a great poet.
Other audios in series Poetry from the Garden
- Poetry from the Garden - New Series (First up, A Certain Lady by Dorothy Parker) part 1
- Poetry from the Garden - Warning by Jenny Joseph part 2
- Poetry from the Garden - Rilke and Yeats (2 poems this time) part 3 ←
- Poetry from the Garden - A Passage from the Diary of Anaïs Nin part 4
- Poetry From the Garden: Stop All the Clocks by W.H Auden (reading and discussion) part 5
Comments
You must be logged in with a commenting account to post comments. Log in with a commenting account or register a commenting account if you don't have one. This is not the same as a Membership account.
-
-
A Eve on 2021-01-13 20:21:34 (UTC)
So true, on both accounts! I think Yeats was a very troubled soul, it certainly shows up in a lot of his writing.
-
-
Hawkins on 2020-11-25 02:35:26 (UTC)
Yay more poetry! I'm still loving this series, as always.
The first poem in particular was one I really enjoyed. Star imagery just has a kind of place in my heart. And I absolutely agree that stars are such an evocative image, for Rilke as well as so many others. There really is something almost terrifyingly poetic and breathtaking about them. If you've never been to the desert to see them on a clear night, then I encourage it. It's a sight a person ought to see in their lifetime.
And though I think the background information on Rilke is valuable, I like to imagine anyway that this pair of lovers were indeed truly happy, and remained that way.
The second poem was very heartbreaking. Jaded as you put it was a good word I think. Romantic star poetry will maybe always be my favorite thing, but I suppose it's the job of a poet to show a harder side of life too. "The pangs of dispriz'd love" are one of life's pains, but maybe that's why they're poetic. Pain can have a poetry to it.
-
A Eve on 2020-11-26 21:09:49 (UTC)
Yes absolutely, pain can absolutely have poetry to it. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! xox
-
-
Benny on 2020-11-24 06:49:38 (UTC)
Hi Eve I hope you are ok? I always thought that poems were some sort of weird art. I never really understood the message they were telling. You have a very nice (poem reading) voice, you made it easy for me to understand these poem with your interpretations. Thanks 👍😊
-
A Eve on 2020-11-26 21:08:20 (UTC)
Thank you, I'm doing great! I'm glad you're enjoying this!
-
MadWithLust on 2021-01-13 14:14:05 (UTC)
What a selection! Two more very interesting poems!
Falling Stars: there is something just so romantic and poetic about astronomy! I think you're spot on about there being something about a short poem capturing the beauty of a moment, short and sweet and succinct! I was thinking this was a bit of contrast. At such distance, a shooting star is absurdly fast but just moves in a steady march across the sky. It's also gigantic but it looks so tiny. And either way, it makes you feel so small and that the heavens are so wonderful!
Never Give All the Heart: this one was just intriguing to me. A bit dark and cynical, but that's what makes it interesting to me. It stands out and I think there's a bit of truth in it. In my opinion, a lot of men are romantics deep down and it's a bit of a rude awakening to find that honeymoon phase of the relationship gives way to the realities of relationships. The backstory you gave makes perfect sense!