Swan Song Iii Comments

Rilke at the end of his life wrote a poem like this comparing to falling into a deep sleep, Yeats read a translation of it. He was already in his 70s but he couldn't wrap his mind around Rilke's quietism. He wrote: Bid imagination run Much on the Great Questioner; What he can question, what if questioned I Can with fitting confidence reply. The Great Questioner is clearly a god-figure but he is not omnipotent or omniscient. Yeats seems confident he can out-talk him (?) , persuade him to grant a respite (?) , to listen but not act (?) .