Is he of this place? No — his wide-born nature
Springs from both realms, not just one shore.
He’d bend the willow’s branch with greater stature,
Who knew the willow’s roots before.
When you go to bed, leave not milk or bread
On the table — it draws the dead.
But he, the summoner, mingles
Beneath the clemency of the eyelid.
Let their appearance blend with all that’s seen;
And the spell of rue and rising smoke between
Be as true as the clearest trace.
Nothing can mar the image he’s been given;
Be it from graves or rooms he’s driven —
He praises ring, clasp, and vessel’s grace.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnet VI (Sonnets to Orpheus), Valais, Switzerland, 1922
(Not an official translation)
Yes, it is indeed another Rainer Maria Rilke poem that I have conjured up for you. This one, has a very different context and association, so let me explain.
Netflix added a new series to its library, A Discovery of Witches, that I was totally hooked on! Based on the All Souls trilogy written by Deborah Harkness. It contains everything I needed to distract me from a hard day at work: witches, vampires, demons, history, romance, alchemy, and mystery. Historical purists will hate it, but I loved the idea of a historical fantasy, and who better to mess around with history than a historian?
I won’t bore you with a synopsis, suffice it to say that in Season 3, the protagonist Matthew de Clermont (vampire, played by Matthew Goode) is recovering in bed from a near death experience. His friends and family rally around him, and while he is still unconscious, his demon friend reads a passage from an anthology of none other than Rainer Maria Rilke. Of course I sat up and listened and almost immediately started digging around for the original poem!
Deborah Harkness’s inclusion of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnet VI from Sonnets to Orpheus during Matthew de Clermont’s convalescence in Shadow of Night serves as a profound thematic and emotional touchstone. While Harkness hasn’t publicly detailed her reasoning for selecting this specific sonnet, its content resonates deeply with Matthew’s character arc and the novel’s overarching themes.
Sonnet VI delves into the liminal space between life and death, emphasising the presence of the departed within the living world. It speaks of the “summoner” who perceives the dead not as distant memories but as integral to the fabric of existence. This mirrors Matthew’s own existence as a vampire — a being straddling life and death, burdened by centuries of memories and experiences.
During his recovery, Matthew grapples with his dual nature, his past actions, and his place in a world that often feels alien. The sonnet’s imagery of integrating the presence of the dead into the living world parallels Matthew’s journey towards self-acceptance and understanding. It underscores the idea that one’s past, no matter how haunting, is an inseparable part of the present self.
Furthermore, Harkness’s academic background in history and literature, particularly her studies on the interplay between science, magic, and the supernatural, informs her narrative choices. Her appreciation for poetry and its ability to convey complex emotions and themes likely influenced her decision to incorporate Rilke’s work at this pivotal moment in the story. In essence, the inclusion of Sonnet VI enriches the narrative, offering readers a poetic lens through which to view Matthew’s internal struggles and the novel’s exploration of life, death, and the spaces in between. Here is the German original (the English translation above is mine, as I once again disagreed with the versions I found).
Ist er ein Hiesiger? Nein, aus beiden
Reichen erwuchs seine weite Natur.
Kundiger böge die Zweige der Weiden,
wer die Wurzeln der Weiden erfuhr.
Geht ihr zu Bette, so lasst auf dem Tische
Brot nicht und Milch nicht; die Toten ziehtes—.
Aber er, der Beschwörende, mische
unter der Milde des Augenlids
ihre Erscheinung in alles Geschaute;
und der Zauber von Erdrauch und Raute
sei ihm so wahr wie der klarste Bezug.
Nichts kann das gültige Bild ihm verschlimmern;
sei es aus Gräbern, sei es aus Zimmern,
rühme er Fingerring, Spange und Krug.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnet VI (Die Sonette an Orpheus), Valais, Schweiz, 1922
The one line that truly stood out for me was When you go to bed, leave not milk or bread
On the table — it draws the dead. I couldn’t help but think back to my mom and grandmothers, who always insisted on putting food away at night and never leaving anything on the table “because it brings bad luck”. We sometimes take things for granted in our daily lives that have been handed down through family or social lore, without really bothering to find out the origins of such superstitions. On a practical level it makes sense, you don’t want to attract rodents or insects, but how would it attract the dead?
Many superstitions in the Philippines, the origins can be traced back to Europe. In France, placing a loaf of bread upside down on the table is considered bad luck. This superstition dates back to the Middle Ages when executioners, who were often ostracised, would receive their bread loaves upside down to identify them. This practice led to the belief that such an act invites misfortune. In Italy, Leaving a loaf of bread upside down on the table is also seen as a bad omen. This belief stems from the association of upside-down bread with death and misfortune. Both countries, as you can imagine, feature prominently in Harkness´ books!
Circling back to Rilke and his Sonnet VI, he explores life, death, and transformation as we straddle the worlds of the visible and invisible. Watching A Discovery of Witches, made me realise that if I had been born in 1540 or so, there was no such thing as a lightworker as we know them today. In Elizabethan England I would have been called a witch for being able to read people’s auras or heal energies, a practice that we now refer to as Reiki. In a similar manner, medicine was first alchemy and stuff of the occult before it was deemed a science, so I am honoured to be a lightworker in this modern age and no longer a witch!
“It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.” Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches (Sky One, 2018 / Netflix 2024)
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