The name was Rainer Maria Rilke. She had found the book in the Bookmobile that visits the community school once a week. But she did understand the poem and had a passionate and personal response to it. Many scholars would frown upon my relation to this poem, and they surely would place little value on Beatrice's interpretation of it. I use Beatrice and Rilke here to illustrate that art can have meaning without being filtered through institutionally enforced modes of analysis and that art can play a very important role in people's ability to reflect upon and understand their environment and life.
Many intellectuals tend to argue against the importance of the social and cultural context of art.
Likewise, they argue against instinctual reaction to art and claim that this human response neglects to appreciate the art in its pure form. Many theorists argue that art should stand alone outside historical, social, and cultural context. But subjectivity demystifies art and provides avenues for understanding. And understanding provokes action and change. Depriving art of this capacity feeds right into structures of power.