The Panther (Poem)

Introduction

The panther is considered the most famous thing poem by Rilke, in which the poet becomes the spokesman for the "dumb things". The panther is in three stanzas of his appearance (look, gait, and eye) described in order to open up its interior. The deprivation of liberty is expressed in the first stanza by the slow rhythm. The second verse shows the interior of the Panther captivity. The panther has lost its natural character.

Argument for the Analysis of Poem

Imagine the height of happiness and freedom. Imagine living it, being it. Imagine that this blissful autonomy is all you've known all your free and happy life. Then imagine crushing subjugation ending all of it in seconds. Would you not wish for freedom's return; would you not pine away in melancholy at the loss of those former years? Here's a question: Is it possible to forget it altogether? This is the argument for the poem which we will evaluate in the below sections by providing analysis of the poem and will discuss the themes in the poem to support this argument.

Rilke's “Panther” is a poem that wants to understand the mesmerizing strength of subjugation and the latent potency of freedom that lies within it. His example is drawn from the captivity of a large Panther whose freedom, knowing no limit in a state of nature, is now next to nothing. Finally sees hope in the eyes of the panther that raises the eyelid tired enabling us to understand that how panther is feeling and has resigned to continue his life as all hopes dies in his heart (Rilke, 29). The poet also wants to represent as the animal that loses its instinct inside cage.

Poem Analysis

The first quatrain describes the captive animal's vision as having grown weary, so that all he perceives are blurs, or things without definition or significance. Such deterioration is a symptom of the animal's imprisonment. The bars that surround him multiply in his sight to a thousand; he can only glimpse fragmentary images of what lies beyond. His universe is thus rendered monotonous and meaningless (Freedman, Pp. 39).

The second quatrain reinforces this sense of futility by conveying the circularity of the panther's movement. His incessant pacing also suggests that the imprisoned animal harbors reserves of force and rebellion. The intensity of this contained energy is implied by the suppleness and massiveness of the animal's tread. The image ...