ESSAY

Hannah Staley

Mr. Salsich

English 9

16 September 2008

Two Great Writers
An essay on quotes by Rainer Maria Rilke and Soren Kierkegaard

For our first essay assignment, we were given a challenging task. We had to compare a quote that is posted on Mr. Salsich’s blog by Rainer Maria Rilke, a German poet, with one of the quotes inscribed on the walls of the school hallway. The quote I chose is by Soren Kierkegaard, a Norwegian philosopher, and it reads: “Life must be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” It is interesting that a German poet and a Norwegian philosopher would have such similar views on life. What makes it even more interesting is that they didn’t even live at the same time. Rilke lived from 1875-1926 and Kierkegaard lived from 1813-1855. Additionally, both men understood that, if it were possible, we would live life backwards. Unfortunately, we can’t.

While reading both quotes, I realized that there is one part of the Rilke passage that relates to the Kierkegaard quote quite well. Rilke states that: “Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” While Rilke ends talking about “living your way into the answer,” that is where Kierkegaard begins his quote. Both men seem to be intrigued that you have to wait until you’re older to understand many aspects of life. Rilke tells us to think like we are older, even if we are young, so we can try to answer unsolved questions we may have.

These men would have related well to each other, even though they could never have met. They both lived short lives, along with having similar views and an interest in pondering serious questions. Rilke lived to be 51 and died of leukemia. Kierkegaard lived to be 42 and died due to complications from a childhood fall from a tree. Even though these men didn’t live to be very old, they lived thoughtful lives. Since they had poor health, they may have been inspired to think more about life. Also, since they died young, they may have felt pressure to answer their own questions more than people who live longer lives. Finally, both of these writers understood the importance of finding meaning. Kierkegaard focused mainly on “understanding” life. While Rilke doesn’t use the word “understand,” it is clearly the subject of his passage.

It’s fascinating how you can compare a one sentence quote with a five sentence passage and have so much to talk about. Once you read these passages over and over, you understand more that life’s challenges are similar for all of us. These writers had a passion for trying to answer life’s questions and for inspiring others to do it, too.