4. Rilke indicates that in the future, men and women will approach each other differently than they do at the time of his writing. How will they approach each other?

5. Whose ideas about sex does Rilke advise the young poet to avoid subscribing to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What can the reader infer about the content of the first letter the young poet wrote to Rilke from reading Rilke's response?

2. What does Rilke mean when, in the fourth letter, he tells the young poet to "live" his unanswered questions?

3. What can be inferred about Rilke's health from letters two and three?

4. How does Rilke advise the young poet to approach works of art?

5. What do letters two and three suggest about the young poet's interest in Rilke's advice?

6. What does Rilke mean when in letter three he says his books "no longer belong to me"?

7. At the end of letter four, Rilke mentions the young poet's new profession. What is this profession?

8. Rilke places considerable emphasis on the necessary nature of art. What does he mean when he says that a poet is only a poet if he would die if he didn't write?

9. What does Rilke imply about the nature of good art when he tells the young poet that if poetry is inspired by the young poet's soul-searching, he does not need to ask anyone else if the poetry is good?

10. Rilke advises the young poet to be cautious about the way sex can change behavior. In what way does he suggest that sex changes people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In letter eight, Rilke compares the sense of security to which individuals cling to the horrors that exist in the homes of the characters of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Analyze one of Poe's stories or longer poems using the life philosophies of Rilke as a lens through which to view the horrors of Poe's work as personal delusions and securities.