RILKE UND NIETZSCHE ODER “DIE LUST AN DER MASKE”

The poet Rilke and the philosopher Nietzsche have a great deal in common. They have no family, no employment, and no home and for both life and work form a whole. They are nearly exclusively preoccupied with the question of human existence. The similarities or affinities which connect the existential poet and the existential philosopher have been widely discussed. What has been neglected up to now is the fact that only Nietzsche but also Rilke attaches a lot of importance to the role and significance of the mask. That is why this essay focuses on: Rilke and Nietzsche agree on the fact that the mask is an essential and indispensable constituent of a creative personality. The poet and the philosopher create truth whatever mask they wear.