Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus

by Rainer Maria Rilke

Book Overview

During three feverish weeks in 1922, Rainer Maria Rilke composed the 55 sonnets that constitute Sonnets to Orpheus. Inspired by the death of a friend's daughter, the poet felt that he was being... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395250587
• ISBN13: 9780395250587
• Release Date: January 1977
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Duino Elegies

Tops! This translation of Rilke is regarded by many of us as the best. 'Nuff said. :)

Fantastic translation, but meek reading

Mitchell's translation takes on the complexities of Rilke and somehow manages to render them elegantly, effectively and without sacrificing clarity. But his reading! He sounds like a Disney mouse trebling and whimpering through his own fantastic translation, which is a disappointment, given how powerful it is. Still, this is a great asset; I recommend highly. It is amazing to listen to the words as spoke from as close to the poet as one can reach, and once you get past the weak performance, the poetry is ringing.

A Rilke that reads as if Rilke wrote in English

I've found other translations of Rilke obtuse, frustratingly difficult to get the first layer of sense out of, let alone the multiple layers and connections going all the way down. Poulin's translation renders Rilke crisply, briskly musical, urgent, hallucinatory, and true. I read these words in this order and they succeed in completely breaking me open. Which I count as a poetic success.

Rilke rains on my parade

While audio readings are usually annoying (check out T.S. Eliot reading T.S. Eliot) this particular version benefits from Mitchell's suberb translations and Rilke's vivid imagery. Who among the angels hierarchies....