The Beggars
By Rainer Maria Rilke
You didn’t know
what was in the heap. A visitor found
it to contain beggars. They sell the hollow
of their hands.They show the sightseer
their mouths full of filth,
and let him (he can afford it) peer
at the mange eating away at them.In their twisted vision
his stranger’s face is skewed;
they are pleased with their accession,
and when he speaks they spew.
Summary of The Beggers
- Popularity of “The Beggers”: “The Beggars” by Rainer Maria Rilke, a renowned Austrian poet and novelist, is a symbolic poem. It first appeared in his collection New Poems in 1908. Michael Hofmann translated this poem into English. It draws our attention toward the pathetic and miserable life of the beggers. It highlights how they spend their lives as if they belong to a world unknown to the earth’s inhabitants. Rainer’s excessive use of poetic elements and the touch of realism have made this poem popular across the globe.
- “The Beggers” As a Representative of Sorrow: This poem is about the awful life of the beggers. It begins when the speaker addresses the readers and asks them if they know what can be there in a heap. In the following line, he answers that the mound contains beggers that sell hollow of their hands. Then, he explains how they fill their stomach with dirt and filth. Since they are destined to live in filth, other people seem strangers to them. They seem unable to communicate normally with the stranger who tries to speak with them.
- Major Themes in “The Beggers”: Misery, sarcastic approach to the world, and begging as a curse are the significant themes of the poem. The poem best highlights the dreadful and horrific conditions of the beggers who spend their lives in dirty places. The writer has beautifully explained that when someone is isolated from the normal world, they seem unable to communicate with the people confidently. Although the bagger he encounters looks like a normal human being, he fails to respond accordingly when the stranger tries to speak to him. Through this simple poem, the writer has highlighted the neglected group of the world. Instead of arranging any social welfare for these poor souls, people mistreat and abuse them. As a result, they become violent and aggressive with those who try to reach them.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “The Beggars”
literary devices create magical impacts of the poems on the audiences. Their appropriate usage connects the audience with the writer’s ideas and emotions. Rainer Maria Rilke has also inserted some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ in “it to contain beggars. They sell the hollow” and again the sound of /e/ in “at the mange eating away at them.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “what was” and /f/ in “full of filth.”
- Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. Rainer Maria Rilke alludes to the miserable and battling life of the beggars throughout the poem such as; “what was in the heap. A visitor found
it to contain beggars. They sell the hollow
of their hands.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “it to contain beggars. They sell the hollow” and the sound of /r/ in “they are pleased with their accession.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“They show the sightseer
their mouths full of filth,
and let him (he can afford it) peer
at the mange eating away at them.”
- Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate any statement for the sake of emphasis. Rainer exaggerates about the misery of the beggers such as “They sell the hollow of their hands.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Rainer Maria Rilke has used imagery in this poem such as “They show the sightseer their mouths full of filth”, “his stranger’s face is skewed,” and “and when he speaks, they spew.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. Rainer Maria Rilke has used situational irony in the second stanza of the poem such as;
“They show the sightseer
their mouths full of filth,
and let him (he can afford it) peer
at the mange eating away at them.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows misery and amazement as extended metaphors to show how the poor beggars live in this world.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of sadness, misery, and despair just to show the poor life of the beggers.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Beggars”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetoric devices, symbolism, and impressive images. The tone, however, is sorrowful and tragic.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem with each having the same number of verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Beggers” are useful to quote while talking about the people living in streets and slums.
“They show the sightseer
their mouths full of filth,
and let him (he can afford it) peer
at the mange eating away at them.”
