As a 19-year-old student, Franz Xaver Kappus wrote to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke to ask for advice about his own poetry. A long, in-depth correspondence ensued, and Letters to a Young Poet comprises ten of Rilke’s letters to the young man.
In his first response, Rilke thanks the young poet for his letter but says he can’t provide much insight into Kappus’s poems. He did read them, but there’s not much to say, since literary criticism pales in comparison to poetry itself. People think most things in life can be described in words, but Rilke disagrees—so much of life is “inexpressible,” and analytical writing often fails to grasp the true nature of poetry. Nonetheless, Rilke can tell Kappus that his poems lack a unique style. Two of them show promise, but they still feel generic. On the whole, Rilke advises Kappus not to seek out approval from others. Nobody can tell him if his work is good—not even Rilke. Instead of thinking about such things, Kappus should simply ask himself if he needs to write. Would he die if he couldn’t? If so, then he should do everything in his power to create favorable conditions for writing. He should take an interest in the world, appreciating all its beauty and splendor. Through close attention to everyday existence, his poetry will improve—and so will his life.
Rilke’s second letter to Kappus warns the young poet about irony. If Kappus finds himself overusing it, he should think about great works of art and other “serious” things, since irony falls short in such circumstances. Once he masters when and how to use it, though, irony will become a powerful tool that will enhance his writing. Rilke also urges Kappus to read the work of the Danish writer Peter Jacobsen, noting that he himself has learned a lot from artists like Jacobsen and the sculptor Auguste Rodin.
The third letter responds to a thought Kappus had regarding the introduction to one of Jacobsen’s books. Kappus disagrees with the person who wrote the introduction, and Rilke praises him for his skepticism. He tells Kappus to rarely read literary criticism. Instead, he should trust his own opinions; even if they’re wrong, Kappus will most likely come to the right conclusion eventually, so he should just be patient. Rilke then discusses the relationship between art and sex, responding to something Kappus said about the author Richard Dehmel and how it seems like he writes while “in heat.” Rilke agrees, finding Dehmel’s work interesting but too lustful. By focusing too much on lustful passion, Rilke thinks Dehmel diminishes human sexuality to little more than a narrow, burning desire, which he feels is reductive.
In his fourth letter, Rilke expresses how much he enjoyed Kappus’s last response. He thinks Kappus has a “beautiful concern about life,” and he notes that any attempt to answer the young poet’s probing questions about life would be futile. Nobody could possibly answer the questions Kappus has, so Kappus should learn to live with and love the “questions themselves.” Rilke then turns his attention to sex once again, advising Kappus to avoid seeking out sex for the wrong reasons. In Rilke’s opinion, most people trivialize sex by using it as a tool to address a certain weariness, yearning for physical intimacy as a means of merely invigorating themselves and avoiding boredom. But sex isn’t just a simple fix-all—it’s a complex, wonderful thing that can greatly enhance a person’s life. For now, though, Kappus should take comfort in his own solitude without worrying too much about sexual relations.
Rilke’s fifth letter to Kappus is brief. He has recently arrived in Rome, which he always finds rather depressing at first. The ancient ruins look like little more than random relics of the past, and he finds the city’s tourism overwhelming. After a few days, though, he slowly comes to recognize the beauty of the place—after all, there’s beauty in any city. For Rilke, the everyday wonders of Rome are as rewarding as its most cherished historical sites, and simply paying close attention to the city eventually leads to a broader appreciation of its past.
It's almost Christmas when Rilke writes his sixth letter to Kappus. He knows Kappus will feel the burden of his own solitude on Christmas, but he tells the young poet to embrace this feeling. He must learn to value his lonesomeness and his own private existence. Rilke also addresses some misgivings Kappus has about his job as a military officer, which he thinks is unrewarding and disconnected from the rest of his life. Rilke isn’t surprised to hear that Kappus feels this way, but he encourages him to consider the fact that all jobs feel mundane and unartistic—no matter what profession Kappus pursued, he would probably feel the exact same way about it. But it’s alright if Kappus feels isolated and alone in his profession; it’s alright if he doesn’t connect with the other people in his field. He can always turn to the wider world—to nature itself—for meaningful connections.
Returning to the topic of solitude, Rilke talks in his seventh letter about the natural impulse to avoid lonesomeness. But Kappus should recognize that turning away from solitude is the easy way out. It is harder—but also more rewarding—to embrace isolation. Many young people rush into romantic relationships because they yearn for companionship, but Rilke thinks it’s still very important—perhaps more important—for lovers to have their own sense of solitude. After all, two people can’t fully “merge” with one another if they aren’t separate individuals to begin with. If lovers unite without fully realizing their own individuality, their relationships don’t develop into the rich and rewarding connections that could have formed, so rushing into a romantic bond isn’t in a person’s best interest.
In the same way that he tells Kappus to accept solitude, Rilke tells the young poet in his eighth letter not to turn away from sadness. In a way, sadness signals a certain “transition” in life, since it will eventually pass, leaving people to figure out how to proceed in the wake of their own sorrow. Therefore, sadness contains a fair amount of uncertainty, and Rilke urges Kappus to lean into that uncertainty. No matter what happens, he implies, sadness will lead to personal growth. Similarly, Rilke tells the young poet in his ninth letter to use his feelings of doubt to his advantage. Instead of running from doubt, Kappus should patiently investigate why, exactly, he has such doubts in the first place—a mental exercise that will prove extremely useful, since it will push the young poet to thoughtfully engage with his emotions.
In his final letter to Kappus, which is dated four years after his previous message, Rilke says he’s happy that Kappus’s job as a military officer has given him the opportunity to spend so much time alone. He envisions Kappus sitting in solitude in the lonely fortress where he has been stationed—an image that brings him joy. In the end, Rilke thinks it’s better that Kappus chose the life of an officer instead of working in some arts-adjacent field. Although certain jobs might seem to engage with the arts, the truth is that such professions tend to distract people from leading the disciplined life of an artist. All the better, then, that Kappus lives in a “rough reality” in which it’s possible to be solitary and serious.
