The Panther Summary Rainer Maria Rilke

The Panther - Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Summary

In this poem, the poet is trying to depict the reality of the caged animals that are living in a very pitiable condition losing their natural habitat and freedom. They are not allowed to be wild and blissful.(आनन्दित) They lose their interest in mobility and always remain sad. This poem shows how humans could be cruel to animals and how the poor animals cannot do anything to help themselves. 

The Panther depicts the picture of a panther being locked in a cage and not able to go out according to its freedom. Still, it has a hope to be free one day. Even though the panther is a strong animal, it has been locked and is denied its freedom. 

While moving in the cage iron bar, he becomes tired and cannot see anything. To him, it looks as if, there are thousands of bars and behind the bars, there is no world. His movement around the cage seems like he is performing a ritual dance. (धार्मिक नाच ) He desires to go out but he feels paralyzed and arrested. In his pupils, there is the image of his freedom that goes into his heart, he imagines wandering in the jungle. He thinks it is real and tries to run but cannot. Therefore, he moves here and there helplessly.  

The Panther

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly--. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.

Rainer Maria Rilke    translated by Stephen Mitchell