Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must, ” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose... Describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember. If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place. And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world’s sounds — wouldn’t you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attentions to it. Try to raise up the sunken feelings of this enormous past; your personality will grow stronger, your solitude will expand and become a place where you can live in the twilight, where the noise of other people passes by, far in the distance. - And if out of this turning-within, out of this immersion in your own world, poems come, then you will not think of asking anyone whether they are good or not. Nor will you try to interest magazines in these works: for you will see them as your dear natural possession, a piece of your life, a voice from it. A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it. Rainer Maria Rilke
About This Quote

This quote is a parable about poetry and how it should be done. In this case, the poet is an old man trapped in a prison cell. He is given a piece of paper and a pen. How he uses those two things is the topic of the poem.

The first part of this parable tells us that the old man has been imprisoned by his own life. He wants to write a poem, but he doesn't know how. He has been out of touch with what he truly loves and what makes him happy.

He can't even focus on his own life because he doesn't know why he has been put there – by what force – and for what purpose – for either good or evil. In essence, he feels that he is being used as a spectacle for others to view his suffering, which only makes him sadder if not angrier. The old man becomes depressed from feeling useless and worthless.

He tries to escape from himself by going into himself, the deepest part of the soul that goes into other people's souls. There, he finds that his reason for writing poetry does not lie in how other people see him; rather, it lies in how he sees himself (and other people). Now faced with an internal struggle between good and evil (the prison guard), the old man finds something deep within himself that drives him to write poetry, even without knowing why or for what purpose at first.

He only knows that there must be something more important than himself (or others) if his writing (with pen in hand) continues despite all the suffering he endures (in prison). With this realization, the old man's soul begins to be healed, which brings about an internal change within him. This change allows him to get closer to nature (the outside world) by using it as reference points for his poems (nature itself).

If you're an artist who writes poems or stories, then your reason for writing should not be based on how other people see you or expect you to act; instead, use your artistry to find your purpose in life by connecting with your inner self.

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