The Window-motif in Rilke's poetry

Abstract

In this dissertation my object is twofold: to examine where and how Rilke used the motif of the window, and also to discover the meaning this had for him. To this end, I propose to briefly review the chronology of the major window- poems and the broad background to them in Chapter I. This will in itself reveal just how significant the motif is and where it occurs. The following chapters will be given over to detailed analyses of those poems most significant to the second object of my investigation. Therefore, Chapter II will deal entirely with the earliest of these, "Die Fensterrose", Chapter III with the cycle Les Fenêtres, and Chapter IV with that poem which 'sums up' what Rilke wrote on the window, "LÄNGST, von uns Wohnenden fort,…”. Finally, a conclusion will not only summarize my findings, but also indicate the development to the final vision of the window .es. Definition of the “Intentional Community"