Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem, “Archaic Torso of Apollo” conveys the theme of appreciation as the speaker examines the broken statue of the Greek god Apollo. Rilke’s poem uses figurative language to demonstrate the theme of appreciation of art throughout the poem. Throughout the poem, Rilke frequently uses similes to support his overall theme of his appreciation for the art. A simile is a figure of speech that creates a comparison by showing similarities between two different things. The first powerful simile he used was during his description of the statue’s eyes and torso in stanza one. Rilke writes that “we cannot know his legendary head with eyes like ripening fruit” (1-2). This comparison describes how developed and mature Apollo’s eyes
