The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke
by Rainer Maria Rilke, Stephen Mitchell, Robert Hass
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Read in December, 2007
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror...
When I read that and the second elegy, I seriously got goosebumps all over my body. And some of the poems really blew me away. To be honest, however, so much of it just flew over my head that I need to read it again to even fathom Rilke's depth expressed in these beautiful poems. For me, the most interesting ones were The Book of Hours, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus, and it is too bad that Stephe...more
When I read that and the second elegy, I seriously got goosebumps all over my body. And some of the poems really blew me away. To be honest, however, so much of it just flew over my head that I need to read it again to even fathom Rilke's depth expressed in these beautiful poems. For me, the most interesting ones were The Book of Hours, The Duino Elegies, and The Sonnets to Orpheus, and it is too bad that Stephe...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Shannon
Honorary "dragons" shelving for being just that awesome.
EDIT:
Also, I think I've read all the poems and most of the extra stuff, but I'm not sure if I consider this as "read," yet. I think it's going to stay on the currently-reading shelf until I learn German and French so as to be able to read the pre-translated half (so it's quite possible that this book shall never be "read"). Seriously, Rilke has made me want to learn German and French so I can read his stu...more
EDIT:
Also, I think I've read all the poems and most of the extra stuff, but I'm not sure if I consider this as "read," yet. I think it's going to stay on the currently-reading shelf until I learn German and French so as to be able to read the pre-translated half (so it's quite possible that this book shall never be "read"). Seriously, Rilke has made me want to learn German and French so I can read his stu...more
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2 comments
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
people who carefully absorb and reflect on experiences around them
I'm racing my way up to page 43 so far (it's been about 5 months). It's funny, his poems are so image intensive, I never really know how to read, say, 20 at one sitting. That said, here's one of the three I read this morning--its images have some real gems:
Spanish Dancer
As on all its sides a kitchen-match darts white
flickering tongues before it bursts into flame:
with the audience around her, quickened, hot,
her dance begins to flicker in the dark room.
(full post)
http://intuitivechef.vox.com/l...
...more
Spanish Dancer
As on all its sides a kitchen-match darts white
flickering tongues before it bursts into flame:
with the audience around her, quickened, hot,
her dance begins to flicker in the dark room.
(full post)
http://intuitivechef.vox.com/l...
...more
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Read in January, 1997
recommends it for:
people who don't know german (though the german's here too, if you do)
Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly against his heart: I would be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure,
and we are so awed because it serenely distains
to annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying.
And so I hold myself back and swallow the call-note
of my dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we ever turn to
in our need? Not ange...more
hierarchies? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly against his heart: I would be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure,
and we are so awed because it serenely distains
to annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying.
And so I hold myself back and swallow the call-note
of my dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we ever turn to
in our need? Not ange...more
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9 comments
Self-Portrait
The steadfastness of generations of nobility
shows in the curving lines that form the eyebrows.
And the blue eyes still show traces of childhood fears
and of humility here and there, not of a servant's,
yet of one who serves obediantly, and of a woman.
The mouth formed as a mouth, large and accurate,
not given to long phrases, but to express
persuasively what is right. The forehead without guile
and favoring the shadows of quiet downward gazing.
This, as a coherent wh...more
The steadfastness of generations of nobility
shows in the curving lines that form the eyebrows.
And the blue eyes still show traces of childhood fears
and of humility here and there, not of a servant's,
yet of one who serves obediantly, and of a woman.
The mouth formed as a mouth, large and accurate,
not given to long phrases, but to express
persuasively what is right. The forehead without guile
and favoring the shadows of quiet downward gazing.
This, as a coherent wh...more
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Hi, new favorite poet, where have you been all my life?
I'm cheating with this review, because I'm currently only halfway through this volume, yet I know it's a five-star review. (EDIT: Finished it - everything rocked!) I can blow through a novel in a day, but I can only read a few pages of Rilke at a time, or else the profundity and sheer awesomeness of it all overwhelms me.
I don't know if I've ever encountered a poet like this before. To paraphrase from the back cover, he is pois...more
I'm cheating with this review, because I'm currently only halfway through this volume, yet I know it's a five-star review. (EDIT: Finished it - everything rocked!) I can blow through a novel in a day, but I can only read a few pages of Rilke at a time, or else the profundity and sheer awesomeness of it all overwhelms me.
I don't know if I've ever encountered a poet like this before. To paraphrase from the back cover, he is pois...more
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Read in February, 1996
recommends it for:
Poetry lovers.
Stephen Mitchell provides by far the most musical and natural sounding translations of Rilke. I don't speak or read German, but the quality of the finished translation is far higher than any other translators of Rilke. I also believe he's pretty well-regarded in the field. Rilke's poetry spoke to my romantic (college) soul and still strikes me as some of the most beautiful language ever produced. The introduction to this edition speaks of Rilke's poetic voice sounding like someone whispering in ...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
poetry lovers
Poetry is definitely not my forte, however I loved, loved, LOVED the work of Rainer Maria Rilke. Some favorites include: Imaginary Career, Lament, The First and Third Elegy.
Imaginary Career~
At first a childhood, limitless and free
of any goals. Ah sweet unconsciousness.
Then sudden terror, schoolrooms, slavery,
the plunge into temptation and deep loss.
Defiance. The child bent becomes the bender,
inflicts on others what he once went through.
Loved, feared, rescuer, wrestler, vic...more
Imaginary Career~
At first a childhood, limitless and free
of any goals. Ah sweet unconsciousness.
Then sudden terror, schoolrooms, slavery,
the plunge into temptation and deep loss.
Defiance. The child bent becomes the bender,
inflicts on others what he once went through.
Loved, feared, rescuer, wrestler, vic...more
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Read in March, 2002
This is a book you might need years to prepare for.
Rilke is complex, his images interweave and play off each other. I believe it has something to do with the penchat for hyphenated words that German is prone to.
"Archaic Torso Of Apollo" is one of the most powerful, moving pieces in all of 20th Century poetry.
Rilke is light years beyond you, dear reader, as he is for 90% of all his readers.
But he is accessible in small glimpses if you come correct with an open mi...more
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Read in January, 2008
"The street was too empty; its emptiness had gotten bored and pulled my steps out from under my feet and clattered around in them, all over the street, as if they were wooden clogs. The woman sat up, frightened, she pulled out of herself, too quickly, too violently, so that her face was left in her two hands. I could see it lying there: its hollow form. It cost me an indescribable effort to stay with those two hands, not to look at what had been torn out of them. I shuddered to see a face f...more
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Read in April, 2006
the panther
in the jardin des plantes, paris
his vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. it seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
as he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.
only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly-. an image enters in,
rushes down th...more
in the jardin des plantes, paris
his vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. it seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
as he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.
only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly-. an image enters in,
rushes down th...more
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Read in January, 2001
I haven't made it through all the poems in here. There are parts in this one elegy to a dead friend that I will remember forever. Something about the eyes of animal taking you in & holding you a moment then releasing you without judgment. And a passage that's like, Look at this rose on the corner of my desk ... what meaning does it find in my awareness? And my favorite poem of all time, "Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes." is in here. Here is the text of that poem on this random woman's we...more
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One of my favorite poets. A sample:
My life is not this steeply sloping hour,
in which you see me hurrying.
Much stands behind me; I stand before it like a tree;
I am only one of my many mouths,
and at that, the one that will be still the soonest.
I am the rest between two notes,
which are somehow always in discord
because Death’s note wants to climb over-
but in the dark interval, reconciled,
they stay there trembling.
And the song goes on, beauti...more
My life is not this steeply sloping hour,
in which you see me hurrying.
Much stands behind me; I stand before it like a tree;
I am only one of my many mouths,
and at that, the one that will be still the soonest.
I am the rest between two notes,
which are somehow always in discord
because Death’s note wants to climb over-
but in the dark interval, reconciled,
they stay there trembling.
And the song goes on, beauti...more
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Read in December, 1989
When I first got this book I loved the translation, then years later in 2000 I think, I was discussing Rilke with a German friend and she really didn't like the English translation of The Leopardin particular and the book in general. I guess I'm at the mercy of translations until I become multi-lingual,Maybe I like Mitchell because I can feel how much he loves the work. Rilke even in translation transports me out of my tired little self into a human with possiblities.
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Read in March, 2002
recommends it for:
those open to opening; searchers
this book changed my life and helped me find my path as a dragonslaying princess (read it and you'll see what I mean.)
I've read several versions and and Mitchell's translation is the best I've found.
Rilke is an old soul and it comes across in his poetry and here in his letters. A firm, but gentle reminder that in the end we are all alone. The thing we should fear most is not being alone, but not being able to sit with ourselves and feel the silence.
I've read several versions and and Mitchell's translation is the best I've found.
Rilke is an old soul and it comes across in his poetry and here in his letters. A firm, but gentle reminder that in the end we are all alone. The thing we should fear most is not being alone, but not being able to sit with ourselves and feel the silence.
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I discovered Rilke's poetry several years ago, even though I had heard about Letters to a Young Poet while in college. His poems are phenomenal and hold up in translation. One of my favorites is "You Who Never Arrived". I recommend this book. Also, "the idiot", and "Panther" and "before summer rain". Rilke's poetry would still hold up today in the context of contemporary writing, even though some of his words were written over 100 years ago.
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Read in January, 2001
Like Wallace Stevens, Rilke is perfect for reading in small doses, to reestablish the concept of unrepentant lyric poetry of intelligence. After half an hour or so, the work can start to turn in circles and curdle. The Stephen Mitchell translation is wonderful. Recommended for reading on a fall day when the leaves are brisking down a gray northern street. Take a shot of George Oppen immediately after, to cool down your sensiblities.
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Read in June, 1991
recommends it for:
Poetry lovers/Spiritual Seekers
Here is another one that I return to again and again. Rilke went deeper in his interior journey than any poet of the 20th century, including Yeats. Much Wisdom to be found here as well as masterfully constructed poetry. The Stephen Mitchell translation is the best, though Robert Bly's is good too. Reading the German version phonetically alongside the English is a wonderful treat as well.
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ريلکه را پس از گوته بزرگ ترين شاعر آلمان مي دانند ريلکه درباره ي شعرهايش مي گويد گاهي براي يک بيت شعر بايد سالها زندگي کرد
با ترجمه ي آقاي علي عبداللهي چند سالي هست که از زير چاپ بيرون آمد
با ترجمه ي آقاي علي عبداللهي چند سالي هست که از زير چاپ بيرون آمد
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no title
she presses them with color
emboldens them
and separates them
from her terra cotta cliffs
burnt sienna
accents a mountain ridge
like a sierra silhouette
dressed by sunset
*if curious why this is placed in a review of rilke, please ask (as if anybody actually reads these).
she presses them with color
emboldens them
and separates them
from her terra cotta cliffs
burnt sienna
accents a mountain ridge
like a sierra silhouette
dressed by sunset
*if curious why this is placed in a review of rilke, please ask (as if anybody actually reads these).
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.46 (698 ratings) number of reviews: 62popular shelves
other editions
quote
"If no one else, the dying
must notice how unreal, how full of pretense,
is all that we accomplish here, where nothing
is allowed to be itself."
more quotes »