Poetry, like all forms of expression, reflects the artist as well as the artist’s perceptions, expressions, feelings, and ideas. To Rainer Maria Rilke, the paper was like an artist’s canvas, the words, his paint. On the canvas, Rilke captured life, for in essence, poetry is life distilled. Rilke captured the life within himself and around him and transferred it onto paper through the use of meticulously crafted verse and superb usage of literary devices. Evidently, the poet often drew from memories of his own childhood and the past for his poetry. (Magill 1326) Rilke’s fascination with childhood and isolation influenced by a troubled early life are evident in his poems “The Panther” and “Childhood.”
	The would be poet was born René Karl Wilhelm Johan Josef Maria Rilke in Prague on December 4th 1875. He would later change his name to Rainer at the urging of one of his contemporaries. His father, Josef Rilke was an ex-officer who sought to attain the officer rank he had not attained through his son. (Prater 3) His mother, Sophie Rilke, was at the time a 22 year old daughter of a merchant. Having high social aspirations, the mother put on a facade of wealth, for her husband could not provide her with the lavish luxury she desired. (Prater 4) The other distinguishing characteristic of this woman was her extremely devout Catholic nature. (Prater 5) In sharp contrast, Rilke would later blame Christianity for “Nearly extinguishing God in the human experience.” (Stern 421)
	In his own words, Rilke’s early life was “A dark childhood.” (Prater 4) His father was harsh and strict. His mother would always dress in black. Oddly, his mother would dress the young Rilke in girl’s clothing, perhaps in replacement for a lost daughter. (Magill 1326) Rilke received little affection from either of his parents.
	At a young age, Rilke was sent to a military academy. (Britannica) Here he failed to adapt to the strict lifestyle and separation from his surroundings. “A painful training in loneliness among the crowd” as he would later describe his years at the academy. (Prater 9) Rilke sought refuge from this worlds by entering another, that of his poetry. After five years, he was transferred to Linz Academy of Commerce. (Prater 5) After the academy, he completed his education through tutors at home. With education complete, Rilke was free to focus on his poetry. (Prater 15)
	Rilke made his poetic debut at the age of 19 with “Leben un Lieder.” Years of writing would prove very fruitful, producing several collections of letters and poems. Rilke’s outer surroundings influenced his poetry profusely. Frequent trips to Russia where he observed the sudden bloom of the Russian spring would inspire him for years.  (Britannica) Subsequent visits to Paris, Munich, and Duino Castle would have similar effects. (Magill 1327)
	The onset of World War I would throw the poet into a depression. Rilke went years without a major literary contribution, appalled by the violence, death, and destruction around him.  The drought would be ended by what is considered Rilke’s most brilliant work, the “Duino Elegies”, written in a visit to a castle in Switzerland on February 1922. (Calte 1015) Later works would include the “Sonnet’s to Orpheus”, also considered by scholars as a major contribution. After the completion of these two works, Rilke’s health began to deteriorate. He died on December 29, 1926, from an infection contracted by the prick of a rose thorn. A fitting death for such a man. His epitaph reads “ROSE, OH THE PURE CONTRADICTION, DELIGHT OF BEING NO ONE'S SLEEP UNDER SO MANY LIDS.”
	“The Panther” was written after a visit of the “Jardin des Plantes” in Paris, in which Rilke observed the subject of the poem. It was a typical example of one of the poet’s so called “thing poems” in which Rilke describes an object. (Adelstein 1636) On the surface, the poem seems merely to describe a caged beast, but upon further analysis is much more. Throughout the poem, Rilke describes panther using imagery to paint a rather bleak picture of the detained creature. In line 1 the panther’s gaze is described as “tired”, his stare in line 2 is “vacant”. In stanza one, Rilke describes the panther’s gaze around his surroundings. The panther never seems to see beyond the bars. Why see past the bars, when it cannot have nor experience anything beyond them? The panther’s world lies within those bars, not without. In line 12 Rilke uses personification to describe the restlessness of the panther’s limbs, once free. In the beginning of the poem, Rilke describes the animal as a whole. In the next two stanzas, however, he describes the parts and actions of the panther separately. In essence, this is symbolic of captivity’s “deconstruction” of the animal. To delve deeper still into Rilke’s work, the panther’s captive situation represents the plight of many things in nature, held captive by one force or another. (1638)
	“Childhood” is a poem that seeks to describe the routine day of a young child. Lines 1 through 3 begin the work with a description of school, which is portrayed from a negative standpoint. In the next line dismissal is short in sudden, conveyed in only two words, “then out” as opposed to the long description of the school.  Lines 3 through 6 display the child’s fascination with the world outside in contrast to the dull bore of school. in the end of the first stanza, the reader sees that the child walks the same paths as others, but is still alone in solitude. The second stanza focuses on the child’s observations of the world and those around him. Conflicting emotions are displayed, for example in line 15 we see “terror” and “trust.” These conflicting emotions place emphasis on the boy’s uncertainty. The final stanzas narrow the boy’s scope to playtime. While playing by the pond, the boy looks into the water, wondering where his life will take him, where his own paths will lead. (Dietz 2737) 
	The poem utilizes literary devices to keep the reader’s attention. In the original 
German text, the repetition of sounds in the form of both alliteration and assonance is evident. It is shown in phrases like “dumpfen dingen”, “welt so weit” and “groben graßuen”, and “o Traum o Grauen.” (Dietz 2738) Furthermore, the author also utilizes iambic pentameter throughout the poem. (Dietz 2737) Parallel structure is found between stanzas 1 and 2, showing the boy’s feelings at those particular moments. By using repetition at the ends of the first two stanzas, the author effectively conveys to the reader the boy’s perception of his surroundings, his emotions. Moreover, the author uses alternating descriptions of light and dark elements. School, at first is described as dark, followed by the light description of the streets. (Dietz 2739) Rilke provides many “shades” of childhood in his poem.
	Throughout many of Rilke’s poetic works, the theme of isolation is addressed. In both “Childhood” and the “Panther”, a being is trapped in some manner. In the “Panther” that entrapment comes in the solid form of a cage. The boy in “Childhood” has his own cage in his school, from which he is eventually released. Both creatures within their respective “cages” become empty in a sense. Rilke’s troubled, isolated childhood may have contributed to this recurring theme.
	 The panther itself is highly symbolic of Rilke himself during World War I. In the majority of the war, Rilke’s travel abroad was severely restricted. (Freedman 382) It is from his visits to foreign lands that he gained much of his poetic inspiration. Without his travel, Rilke’s poetic spirit was in essence “trapped.”
	The description of the childish gaiety in “Childhood” is in sharp contrast with Rilke’s actual childhood. Many happy, jovial scenes are described, of which Rilke himself was frequently unable to partake of. Rilke’s childhood was in reality a sad one. He was all but ignored by his parents, namely his mother who had wanted a girl. By writing much poetry about childhood, Rilke in a way tries to regain what he has lost in five years at the academy and from the lack of affection he received. To Rilke, childhood was precious. He saw it as the only genuine part of life, due to the fact that there is little care or concern. (Hannaford unnumbered page)
	To quote the poet himself, “Verses are not, as people imagine, simply feelings, they are experiences. For the sake of a single verse, one must see many cities, men and things.....one must know the animals, one must feel the birds fly.” (Hannaford unnumbered page) Ultimately, Rilke captures the life within him and that which surrounded him with his pen as an artist would with his brush. But Rilke was more than an artist. In fact, Rilke was more than a man. He was a poet.