I particularly respond to the line: "I may not complete this one, but I give myself to it." I think as human beings we have such a deep yearning need to be part of something larger and meaningful, and to be necessary, that to be able to commit to something wholly is our deepest goal. In linking this back to writing or just fiction in general: we want to invest in characters and their journeys because they are people (in the best of literature/cinema) who are wholly committed to their destiny (or possibly tragically avoiding a higher calling) - their paths are lessons for our own. It is also a lovely way to dive into a protagonist's POV - what does their innermost self long for? And finally since you love Rilke (and I do too), here is another translation of the same poem. I really clicked with the book of translations by Edward Snow as they have something a little more mystical about them: I live my life in widening circles that drift out over the things. I may not achieve the very last, but it will be my aim. I circle around God, around the age-old tower; I've been circling for millennia and still I don't know: am I a falcon, a storm, or a sovereign song?

Thanks, Jacob. Love that translation, agree it does feel a bit more mystical. Yes, the circle approach does imply a journey which zeroes in on what lies at the center of the Protagonist's psyche. So whereas the plot may be a widening circle, the psychological journey is a narrowing one until it lands on the character's core nature. And thanks for hitting that line: "I may not complete this one, but I give myself to it." That's a great way to think about the Protagonist after they've suffered a great reversal in fortune, an All Is Lost moment, what we've come to think of as the end of Act Two. A crisis point and a choice: Go back to the relative safety of the way they used to live, even if it's an inauthentic life, or go forward into uncertainty, against all odds? That line - giving oneself to it, even though may not complete it - speaks to that choice to go forward. Screenplays are so much more than hitting this plot point on this page count. We need to get into the heart and soul of the characters, even if the story is a antic comedy like the one I'm writing now. None of it means anything unless we craft characters who feel alive and have something going on in their lives with which a reader can resonate. Thanks for your comment!