Childhood
by Rainer Maria Rilke
At a glance:
- Author: Rainer Maria Rilke
- First Published: 1906
- Type of Poem: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Freedom, Children, Art or artists, Schools or school life, Loneliness
The Poem
“Childhood” is a poem of thirty-three lines divided into four stanzas. The title would generally lead the reader to expect a poem describing a time of innocence and joy, and while “Childhood” does this to some extent, it also describes a contrasting sad side to childhood. The poem is written in the third person, which often serves to distance the poet from the speakers or perspectives in the poem. However, in “Childhood” the unnamed, pale child and his feelings of loneliness, isolation, and sadness resemble Rilke’s remembrance of his own childhood quite...
(The entire page is 1459 words.)
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