„Zwang-Idee“ und Willensmetaphysik. Spuren von Rilkes Schopenhauer-Rezeption in Das Gold … und darüber hinaus

The following paper is an attempt to trace the influence of Schopenhauer’s philosophy in Rilke’s poem Das Gold (engl. Gold) from the New Poems cycle. Given that Rilke’s poem presents gold as product of a ‘compulsive idea’ (“Zwang-Idee”) pertaining to a metaphysical principle of will, which pervades elements of nature, the possibility that Das Gold may reflect a more profound reception of Schopenhauer’s ideas deserves a more thorough analysis. To this end, the article is structured in three parts (plus an introduction and the conclusion, which offers a broader perspective regarding Rilke’s use of the concept of will). After a brief discussion of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of the will, a detailed analysis of Rilke’s Das Gold from a Schopenhauerian perspective follows. After that, I attempt to demonstrate why applying Schopenhauer’s ideas leads to a more consistent interpretation and better understanding of Das Gold than Nietzsche’s concept of “will to power.” (T-IG, in German)