--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rilke used to say that no poet would mind…" description: "\"“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house of his memory. In many respec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg" --- # Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol… ![“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house of his memory. In many respects Rilke was a prick.” quote by Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg) > ““Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house of his memory. In many respects Rilke was a prick.”” [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rilke suggested that imprisonment could give a poet time to delve into memory, implying that hardship can foster creative depth. **In simple terms:** Hardship can spark creative reflection. Key Takeaway Embrace constraints as creative opportunities. Themes creativity memory hardship Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Writing retreats - solitary work - confinement - mental health - artistic blocks Key Concepts Poetry psychology solitude Questions to Reflect On - How can you use limited time for deep reflection? - What memories fuel your creative work? A Different Perspective Not all constraints are beneficial; isolation can also hinder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. May you wake up... and start dancing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/may-you-eat-an-unfamiliar-dessert-in-a-strange-land-at-least-once/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [“In his field, and with his means, Rilke carries out an operation that one could philosophically describe as the 'transformation of being into message'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/in-his-field-and-with-his-means-rilke-carries-out-an-operation-that/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [“The critic said that once a year he read Kim; and he read Kim, it was plain, at whim: not to teach, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/the-critic-said-that-once-a-year-he-read-kim-and-he-read-kim-it-was/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [I think about the poet Rainer Maria Rilke who said that it's the questions that move us, not the answers. As a writer, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-think-about-the-poet-rainer-maria-rilke-who-said-that-it-s-the/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“What appears in the former statue of Apollo, however, cannot simply be equated with the Olympian of the same name, who had to ensure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/what-appears-in-the-former-statue-of-apollo-however-cannot-simply-be/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [“The goal is not to answer these questions. The goal is to be present to them with all that we are. In a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-bucko/the-goal-is-not-to-answer-these-questions-the-goal-is-to-be-present/) [Adam Bucko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-bucko/) > [“As Borges has taught us, all the books in the library are contemporary. Great poems are like granaries: they are always ready to enlarge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/as-borges-has-taught-us-all-the-books-in-the-library-are-contemporary/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“And you, Clara Westhoff, how simply and well you endured, lived through the experience, and made it a forward step in your young existence!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/and-you-clara-westhoff-how-simply-and-well-you-endured-lived-through/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Rainer Maria Rilke greeted and wrestled with the angels of his Duino Elegies in the solitude of a castle surrounded by white cliffs tall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/rainer-maria-rilke-greeted-and-wrestled-with-the-angels-of-his-duino/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [“ For among these winters there is one so endlessly winter that only by wintering through it will your heart survive. - Rilke”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/for-among-these-winters-there-is-one-so-endlessly-winter-that-only-by/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“To što se moja peć opet zadimila pa sam morao da iziđem, to zaista nije nikakva nesreća. Što se osećam klonuo i prehlađen, nema…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rilke/to-to-se-moja-pe-opet-zadimila-pa-sam-morao-da-izi-em-to-zaista-nije/) [Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rilke/) > [“Ah, Malte, mi tako koračamo kroz život i čini mi se da smo svi rasejani i zabevljani i da ne obraćamo pažnju kako valja…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rilke-rainer-maria-zapisi-maltea-lauridsa-brigea/ah-malte-mi-tako-kora-amo-kroz-ivot-i-ini-mi-se-da-smo-svi-rasejani-i/) Rilke Rainer-Maria Zapisi Maltea Lauridsa Brigea > [My dad wanted to name me after Rainier Maria Rilke, the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/my-dad-wanted-to-name-me-after-rainier-maria-rilke-the-poet/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [“U Parizu sam proveo nedelje u Nacionalnoj biblioteci čitajući knjige davno željene, ali beleške koje sam tada pravio, ničemu mi ne služe, jer tokom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajner-marija-rilke/u-parizu-sam-proveo-nedelje-u-nacionalnoj-biblioteci-itaju-i-knjige/) Rajner Marija Rilke > [“Success had put me on the wrong track and I did not know that there is a kind of success worse than failure, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/success-had-put-me-on-the-wrong-track-and-i-did-not-know-that-there/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## More by Clive James > [Arnold Schwarzenegger looks like a brown condom full of walnuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/arnold-schwarzenegger-looks-like-a-brown-condom-full-of-walnuts/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [My wife spoke perfect Italian and she was very beautiful and very suave Italian men were crowding around her, talking all the time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/my-wife-spoke-perfect-italian-and-she-was-very-beautiful-and-very/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The streets, at least in this part of town, seemed impossibly clean in comparison to London. The public telephones were unvandalised. For a London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-streets-at-least-in-this-part-of-town-seemed-impossibly-clean-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [In London there was no home cooking worthy of the name. When you were in funds you ate out. But only the people whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-london-there-was-no-home-cooking-worthy-of-the-name-when-you-were/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Generally it is our failures that civilize us. Triumph confirms us in our habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/generally-it-is-our-failures-that-civilize-us-triumph-confirms-us-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [I try to be specific. One thought at a time. Clear. Articulate. And above all, memorable, if you can be. You'd like to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/i-try-to-be-specific-one-thought-at-a-time-clear-articulate-and-above/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Pound had argued - and Eliot had helped him prove - that a poem could be sustained by memorable moments. Olson proved that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/pound-had-argued-and-eliot-had-helped-him-prove-that-a-poem-could-be/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A luxury liner is really just a bad play surrounded by water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-luxury-liner-is-really-just-a-bad-play-surrounded-by-water/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [One way or another, all the poets of the thirties and forties reacted to Auden, either by rejecting him or trying to absorb him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/one-way-or-another-all-the-poets-of-the-thirties-and-forties-reacted/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Little books are the things to write at my age, I've decided. Avoid the big ones, go for the little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/little-books-are-the-things-to-write-at-my-age-i-ve-decided-avoid-the/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Too many of my friends are dead, and others wrecked By various diseases of the intellect Or failing body. How am I still upright?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/too-many-of-my-friends-are-dead-and-others-wrecked-by-various/) [clive james](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A sceptic finds Dallas absurd. A cynic thinks the public doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-sceptic-finds-dallas-absurd-a-cynic-thinks-the-public-doesn-t/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The Canadian version of Julius Caesar's memoirs? I came, I saw, I coped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-canadian-version-of-julius-caesar-s-memoirs-i-came-i-saw-i-coped/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The thing about making a documentary in Las Vegas is there isn't much to film apart from other people making documentaries about Las Vegas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-thing-about-making-a-documentary-in-las-vegas-is-there-isn-t-much/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [When I was very young, one of my favourite books was Captain's Courageous and I suppose one of the reasons I loved it, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/when-i-was-very-young-one-of-my-favourite-books-was-captain-s/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) [Explore all 151 Clive James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## More Poetry quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“Things are more like they are now...than they have EVER been before!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uncle-arnie-mamath/things-are-more-like-they-are-now-than-they-have-ever-been-before/) Uncle Arnie Mamath [Browse all 21,625 Poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house of his memory. In many respects Rilke was a prick.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clive James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Poetry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/clive-james-2750_poetry_rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-min_177962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the…” — Clive James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Clive James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Rilke used to say that no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```