Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Der Panther,” as translated by Stephen Mitchell, reveals the social and cultural issue of holding wild animals captive for human entertainment through his personification of the panther’s suffering. It is evident throughout the poem that the speaker is sympathizing with the panther in the cage at the zoo. The speaker even attributes human-like qualities to the panther, such as deep emotional trauma. Mitchell’s translation of the poem utilizes a series of words that illustrate Rilke’s point of view through the symbolic meaning of those words. First and foremost, Mitchell’s translation includes the word ‘bars’ three times in the first stanza of the poem: His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold …show more content…
It seems to him there are a thousand bars, and behind the bars, no world. The first three lines describe how the panther’s vision has grown weary from seeing absolutely nothing but metal bars all day and all night for the remainder of its natural life, as it is being held captive in a zoo. The third and fourth line detail how, from the panther’s point of view, there are infinitely many bars, because the panther spends the entirety of its day stalking back and forth and in circles within the cage. Behind the bars, the panther does not have a life worth living, as told by the words, “behind the bars, no world.” The second stanza includes keywords like ‘paces,’ ‘circles,’ ‘ritual,’ and ‘paralyzed’: As he paces in cramped circles, over and over, the movement of his powerful soft strides is like a ritual dance around a