Poem/Song Project By Alex Hancock

Initiation Rainer Maria Rilke Whoever you are, go out into the evening, leaving your room, of which you know each bit; your house is the last before the infinite, whoever you are. Then with your eyes that wearily scarce lift themselves from the worn-out door-stone slowly you raise a shadowy black tree and fix it on the sky: slender, alone. And you have made the world (and it shall grow and ripen as a word, unspoken, still). When you have grasped its meaning with your will, then tenderly your eyes will let it go…

Shinedown (written by Brent Smith) Second Chance My eyes are open wide And by the way, I made it Through the day I watched the world outside By the way, I'm leaving out Today I just saw Haley's comet She waved Said why you always running In place? Even the man in the Moon disappeared Somewhere in the Stratosphere

Second Chance (Cont.) [Chorus] Tell my mother, Tell my father I've done the best I can To make them realize This is my life I hope they understand I'm not angry, I'm just saying... Sometimes goodbye Is a second chance Please don't cry One tear for me I'm not afraid of What I have to say This is my one and Only voice So listen close, it's Only for today

Second Chance (Cont.) [Chorus] Tell my mother, Tell my father I've done the best I can To make them realize This is my life I hope they understand I'm not angry, I'm just saying... Sometimes goodbye Is a second chance Here's my chance This is my chance Tell my mother, Tell my father I've done the best I can To make them realize This is my life I hope they understand I'm not angry, I'm just saying... Sometimes goodbye Is a second chance Sometimes goodbye Is a second chance [x2]

Thesis: Both Second Chance and Initiation deal with the notion of leaving the “norm” behind, in that one must leave their comfort zone in order to experience life to the fullest and to achieve their dreams. Smith Literary techniques: Imagery Symbolism Refrain/Repetition Use of first person Tone Rilke Literary techniques: Aphorism

Brent Smith (born January 10, 1978) is a singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the band Shinedown. Smith is known to have an unusually wide vocal range and has claimed that he has never had any formal lessons or instructions. Brent has previously suffered with an addiction to drugs such as cocaine and Oxycontin, but has now been sober for over a year. He credited the birth of his son with this turn around, stating that he "saved me from my vanity." This song Second Chance was one of his band’s biggest hits and it was featured on the 2008 album The Sound of Madness.

Rainer Maria Rilke (born December 4, 1875) was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and art critic. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the indescribable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets. Comparison Between the two Both write a lot about imagining a life which would be a departure from the norm Both have suffered from vices (Smith with drugs and Rilke from alcohol) Prevalent themes include the idea of getting up and going after your dreams even if it means you have to leave your previous life behind

Brent Smith’s Second Chance and Rainer Maria Rilke’s Initiation both deal with carpe-diem themes in leaving your comfort zones and chasing after your dreams. Smith watches “the world outside” and feels as though his life is stuck in neutral. Smith feels as though he is always “running in one place” and not going out and trying to achieve his dreams. He decides that sometime “goodbye is a second chance,” and that he must leave his life behind in order to get a chance to live his life to the fullest. Rilke deals with the same theme in that the speaker in the poem is imploring the reader to use “initiation” and leave your comfort zone, or your “room of which you know every bit,” and go and live your life. Rilke implores the reader that once they leave their comfort zone, that the world around them will grow and that once this happens, you will not feel the need to cling to the norm. Both authors share the theme of escaping the norm to go chase your dreams and live your life to the fullest.