Sonnets to Orpheus

by Martyn Crucefix (Translator)

Perhaps the greatest lyric poet of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was born in prague and led a nomadic existence, living in Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy and France before his death in Switzerland from leukaemia.He dedicated himself exclusively to his work, including the New Poems (1907-8), the semi-autobiographical novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910), Duino Elegies (1923) and Sonnets to Orpheus(1923).
Martyn Crucefix's own poetry- for which he has won numerous prizes, including a major Eric Gregory award and a Hawthornden Fellowship- has been praised as 'urgent, heartfelt, controlled and masterful' (Poetry London). His collections include BeneathTremendous Rain(1990), At The Mountjoy Hotel(1993), On Whistler Mountain(1994), A Madder Ghost(Enitharmon,1997), An English Nazareth (Enitharmon,2004)and Hurt (Enitharmon, 2012). His translation of Rilke Duino Elegies (Enitharmon, 2006)was shortlisted for the Corneliu Popescu Prize and chosen by the novelist Philip Pullman as of his 40 favourite books.
'There has been many translations of Rilke's rapidly composed Sonnets to Orpheus of 1992, and every time the voice of the original has modified, deepened, and grown. The sonnets are, as always with Rilke, complex, sometimes lucid, at other times veiled but always passionate. they are some of the greatest philosophical poems of the century. Martyn Crucefix's impressive previous translations of the Duino Elegies has accustomed us to a way of hearing Rilke, but these are, if anything, more beautiful and natural versions, the form falling lightly on the ear, the thought tantalisingly clear in these bold explorations at the edge of sensibility.' GEORGE SZIRTES

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[B Malley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites: I 16, I 24, II 12, II 13, II 17, and II 24. The translator's notes in the back with background on the poems gleaned from Rilke's other writings are pretty cool!

[Sophie Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

lacking in translation but the original is beautiful

[Marie Sveingard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who recommended the book to you?: Jean-Paul W.

This collection of 55 sonnets in two parts has the German text on the left, and the English translation on the right in this book; there is also some commentaries on the poems from the translator at the end (background to the sonnets, images and reference, plus a little on interpreting them).

Erect no memorial stone. But let the rose
come into bloom each year on his behalf...

The sonnets are variations on the theme of Orpheus, often joyful and light-footed, written in a quick burst in February 1922. Rilke had already written a poem on Orpheus in his ’New Poems’, and here finds inspiration in the form of Vera, a girl he knew who was a dancer and died of leukemia at a young age (the same illness that would end Rilke’s like four years after writing this collection).

Are we really so fearfully delicate
as fate would have us believe?
Profound and filled with promise to the root
is childhood laid so easily asleep?

Although the poem are often joyful and light-footed, they also explore loss, death, and recovery of the wholeness of being, the author’s dislike of the busyness of modern life’s progress in the early 20th century.
I have already read some of these sonnets in another colleciton, but it was good to read them all now, even if I couldn’t quite understand everything, which is usual when I read Rilke’s poems. Loved the variety and imagery even when wanting more clearness. I was already familiar with Orpheus’ story (including as it’s pictured in the ’Sandman’ series by Neil Gaiman), but it’s often nice to see things from another angle, like through these sonnets here. This book can be a quick read, but reading slower can make things more beautiful… and so it was here.