Collapsing the Borderline: A Deep Semantic Study of Rilke’s “Elegy II”

Abstract

Several kinds of works and expectations are often assigned to literary texts; each representing a certain approach and view(s) of the nature of the verbal structure. One of these underlying views is that which perceives literature as capturing ostensive facts of the human world, in order to fulfill ‘specified’ utilitarian assignments. These ostensive facts of the human world are something which the literary text hides behind it and which the reader necessarily needs to find out so as to give the text an appropriate reading. This paper attempts to re-question literature on this ground, to find out if indeed its visions are reliable: if its words could be rightfully held to be factual, and trusted as referring to the material world of man. What kind of facts does literature present? This paper attempts to provide answers to this question. To accomplish this, the paper hereby, examines, as its primary text, Rilke’s “Elegy II”, and builds its arguments based on Paul Ricoeur’s Deep Semantics.

Key Words: Collapsing, borderline, deep semantics, elegy, Verbal structure, literature,   ostensive facts.