 In later years , Rilke ’ s Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus influenced Hans @-@ Georg Gadamer ’ s theories of hermeneutics — understanding how an observer ( i.e. reader , listener , or viewer ) interprets cultural artifacts ( i.e. works of literature , music , or art ) as a series of distinct encounters . Gadamer , using examples of Rilke 's poetry in his writings , interprets these works as an experience of a divine " totality " that we must approach with a childlike innocence and ignorance — that only through interpreting and reinterpreting can we cope with or solve the existential problems of humanity ’ s significance and impermanence . Gadamer points out that man is in a condition influenced by an anonymous , alienated , and mechanical world that has evolved to stand as an obstacle to his ability to make sense of such experiences . 
