In her 1960 poem “Black Rook in Rainy Weather,” American-born Sylvia Plath conveys the sense that a miracle has occurred occurred in the form of a black rook. The bird's beauty catches her off guard in a supernatural way on an otherwise dreary day, and she momentarily feels a connection to the natural and the supernatural. Generations earlier, in 1924, the German-Austrian writer Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about the need to believe in this kind of miracle in his poem “Just Like the Winged Energy of Joy.” Rilke implores the reader to open up to the celestial with a childlike heart and to look for miracles in the ordinary patterns of life. Plath and Rilke's poems both incorporate the theme of God communicating with humans through common objects and experiences. Plath informs the reader of a particular chance encounter with the miraculous, while Rilke takes a more proactive approach to encountering and even creating miracles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The protagonist's mood in "Black Rook in Rainy Weather" is characterized by rain. She walks throughout the day in a state of “total neutrality” while “She walks stubbornly in this season / Of weariness.” She has become jaded and world-weary. He says he “doesn't expect miracles,” but then goes on to say, “Not anymore.” The use of more insinuates that there was a time when he fully expected miracles, a time, perhaps in his childhood, when he felt more in touch with God. In "Just Like the Winged Energy of Pleasure," the mood of the poem is hopeful. Rilke writes of how a child's faith "early carried you over many chasms." He tells the reader to recapture that childlike wonder and “now raise the boldly imagined arch / that supports the astonishing bridges.” The arch between humanity and God is not a solid structure built with the “return / from the silent heaven” that Plath desires in “Black Rook in Rainy Weather,” but, according to Rilke, something that is “boldly imagined.” To experience the miraculous, one must be open to the recognition and admission of the divine: "getting carried away is not enough," Rilke tells the reader. The black rook, an unexceptional and common bird, briefly serves as a bridge between the celestial and the earthly. for Plath. He describes observing the bird "Arranging and rearranging its feathers in the rain" and similar experiences in his life "As if a celestial fire took / Possessed the dullest objects." Similarly, Rilke states that “the miracle does not only lie in the extraordinary”. The protagonist of “Black Rook in Rainy Weather” is able to appreciate the magic of the moment because she allows herself to believe that the experience is out of the ordinary. In “Just Like the Winged Energy of Pleasure,” Rilke states that “Working with things is not arrogance / when you build association beyond words.” He is saying that man needs to suspend human pride and be open to associations that go beyond the ordinary, beyond words. As an adult, Plath no longer seeks "design" as she did in her youth, but allows herself to be "stained" as the leaves fall as they fall. He is reluctant to try to derive broad meaning from anything. Rilke, on the other hand, seeks design in the ordinary and, for him, “the pattern becomes ever denser”. Work in building associations. Where Plath is satisfied with "The angel's long wait, / For that rare and chance descent", Rilke searches for the miraculous. He implores man to bridge the gulf between heaven and earth with the lines "Take your well-disciplined forces / and stretch them between two / opposing poles." Rilke is not content to wait for God to initiate contact as he does, 2011.