Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

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 ZhangSchool of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazheng Street, Chongqing, China*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

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”
Published: May 17, 2023
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/3/2022658
Volume: CHR Vol.3
pp. 788-793
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