Comparing Letters To A Young Poet And Black Swan Green

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"… Without ever asking what reward might come from outside. For the creator must be a world for himself and must find everything in himself..."(Rilke, 7). "So we try again. You belief a poem must be beautiful, or it is not a poem. Am I right? Idiots labor on this misconception."(Mitchell, 147). These are both quotes from the stories, Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke and, Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. In both of these stories the same message is being sent. Both text indicate that beauty lies from within and the only way to improve poetry is to be truthful.

Both stories are sending the same message, but they start off in different points, in "Letter One", Rilke starts off by stating that it does not matter what people
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When you start to worry about if your poems are acceptable by others is when it is ruined. "Nothing touches a work of art so little as words of criticism ."(Rilke, 5). In this sense Rilke is saying to the young poet that you do not need to ask for others approval because that is the moment you are not being truthful to yourself and you are trying to please others. If you think that your poetry is good, stick with what is truthful to you. You can ask so and so people about what they thought of your poem and nearly every time you will get a different answer. Rainer then goes on to tell the young poet that, "… Without ever asking what reward might come from outside. For the creator must be a world for himself and must find everything in himself..."(Rilke, 7). Which is saying that an author does not go on to search and asks for what is beautiful or what they should write about.