Leading Individual Identity to Universal Identity: A Discussion on the Problem of Identity in Rilke’s “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes” and the Meaning of Hermes

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Leading Individual Identity to Universal Identity: A Discussion on the Problem of Identity in Rilke’s “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes” and the Meaning of Hermes

Jingyang Zhang 1*
  • 1 School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazheng Street, Chongqing, China    
  • *corresponding author caiyunze@cqu.edu.cn
CHR Vol.3
ISSN (Print): 2753-7072
ISSN (Online): 2753-7064
ISBN (Print): 978-1-915371-29-4
ISBN (Online): 978-1-915371-30-0

Abstract

Western literature has long been infatuated with the myth of Orpheus. Many poets and writers have rewritten the myth of Orpheus. Among these rewritings of the Orphic story, Rilke’s “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes” is unique for its introduction of Hermes. Hermes was the messenger of the gods and the guide of the dead. Hermes is not involved when most people retell the story, and the meaning of Hermes’ introduction is a problem worthy of discussing. Orpheus has a dual identity. He is both a poet and an artist. His two identities correspond to Eurydice’s two identities. The discussion of the identity of Orpheus and Eurydice may provide a new perspective for the study of the significance of the introduction of Hermes. In Rilke’s poems, Eurydice has lost her identity corresponding to Orpheus and entered a self-sufficient situation after she was killed by the snake bite. Her individual identity vanished and was replaced by a universal identity. Hermes acted as a bridge between Orpheus, who maintained his individual identity, and Eurydice, who had a universal identity after her first death. This paper will discuss the dual identities of Orpheus and Eurydice and the changes in Eurydice’s identity after her death. Then this paper will talk about the introduction of Hermes and the meaning of Hermes’ introduction from the perspective of identity problems. Through these discussions, there may be a new understanding of this complex poem.

Keywords:

Rilke, “Orpheus，Eurydice，Hermes”

Zhang,J. (2023). Leading Individual Identity to Universal Identity: A Discussion on the Problem of Identity in Rilke’s “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes” and the Meaning of Hermes. Communications in Humanities Research,3,788-793.
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References

[1]. Dawson, T. (2000, April). The Orpheus complex. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 45(2), 245–266.

[2]. Lee, M. O. (1961). Orpheus and Eurydice: Some Modern Versions. The Classical Journal, 56(7), 307–313.

[3]. Liu Hongli. (2014). Rewriting mythology and reexamining poethood: Interpreting Rilke's Orpheus Eurydice Hermes. Zhejiang Journal, (3), 56-62.

[4]. Sorenson, A. (2015, October). “Mit trauervollem Blick”: The Time of Seeing and Lyric Subjectivity in Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” and “Pietà.” The German Quarterly, 88(4), 451–472.

[5]. Metz, J. (2004, October). Exhuming Rilke’s Orphic Body: Gender and Poetic Voice in “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” and “Hetären-Gräber.” The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory, 79(4), 247–272.

[6]. Lee, Y. Y.. (2006). The Orphic complex in Western literature. Russian Literature and Arts, 1, 88.

[7]. Nelson, E. M. (2005, February 9). Reading Rilke’s Orphic Identity (Studies in Modern German Literature) (New). Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

[8]. H.D (1982). Eurydice. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51869/eurydice-56d22fe6d049d

[9]. Migraine-George, T. (1999). Specular Desires: Orpheus and Pygmalion as Aesthetic Paradigms in Petrarch’s Rime sparse. Comparative Literature Studies, 36(3), 226–246.

[10]. Jo Brodsky, & Liu, W. F.. (2015). Ninety years later. World literature, (1), 134-190.

[11]. Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from http://ronnowpoetry.com/contents/rilke/Orpheus.html

Cite this article

Zhang,J. (2023). Leading Individual Identity to Universal Identity: A Discussion on the Problem of Identity in Rilke’s “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes” and the Meaning of Hermes. Communications in Humanities Research,3,788-793.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (ICIHCS 2022), Part 1

ISBN：978-1-915371-29-4(Print) / 978-1-915371-30-0(Online)
Editor：Faraz Ali Bughio, David T. Mitchell
Conference website: https://www.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 18 December 2022
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.3
ISSN：2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

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References

[1]. Dawson, T. (2000, April). The Orpheus complex. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 45(2), 245–266.

[2]. Lee, M. O. (1961). Orpheus and Eurydice: Some Modern Versions. The Classical Journal, 56(7), 307–313.

[3]. Liu Hongli. (2014). Rewriting mythology and reexamining poethood: Interpreting Rilke's Orpheus Eurydice Hermes. Zhejiang Journal, (3), 56-62.

[4]. Sorenson, A. (2015, October). “Mit trauervollem Blick”: The Time of Seeing and Lyric Subjectivity in Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” and “Pietà.” The German Quarterly, 88(4), 451–472.

[5]. Metz, J. (2004, October). Exhuming Rilke’s Orphic Body: Gender and Poetic Voice in “Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes” and “Hetären-Gräber.” The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory, 79(4), 247–272.

[6]. Lee, Y. Y.. (2006). The Orphic complex in Western literature. Russian Literature and Arts, 1, 88.

[7]. Nelson, E. M. (2005, February 9). Reading Rilke’s Orphic Identity (Studies in Modern German Literature) (New). Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

[8]. H.D (1982). Eurydice. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51869/eurydice-56d22fe6d049d

[9]. Migraine-George, T. (1999). Specular Desires: Orpheus and Pygmalion as Aesthetic Paradigms in Petrarch’s Rime sparse. Comparative Literature Studies, 36(3), 226–246.

[10]. Jo Brodsky, & Liu, W. F.. (2015). Ninety years later. World literature, (1), 134-190.

[11]. Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from http://ronnowpoetry.com/contents/rilke/Orpheus.html

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