The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke

Left to my own devices to explore these poems, to find pieces of myself and reflections of truth as I know it, to shape that shared privacy Maurice Blanchot speaks of—"the passionately unfurled space of a mutual conflict between speaker and hearer"—I like Rilke very much.

Reading his own thoughts on his poetry, delving into the minutiae of his philosophies, the rigidity of his experiences of the world, his fixations on death, birds, gods, dogs, women, mirrors, fountains, solitude, art, the proper way to love—I find Rilke tiresome indeed.

It will not impress Rilke scholars or practiced readers of poetry, I'm sure, but I'm choosing to engage these poems in their own right with as little attention paid to Rilke's life and beliefs and show more peculiarities of logic as possible. Absent the ability to discuss those things directly with Rilke, I would much rather enter into discussion with his works, where at least my voice finds echo and answer. show less

I much prefer Rilke's shorter works to his extended poems. The longer ones just seem to give Rilke's pen too much time to dwell and mope and meander. Most of his poetry seems very personal to himself - emotional and about his own psychological state. But all of that emotional slog is tedious and tiresome to the reader - to the me.

"Flamingos," "Archaic Torso," "Orpheus, Euridice, Hermes," "The Swan," "Before Summer Rain," and "Imaginary Career" - are all excellent poems worth reading several times and ferreting out the referents and ideas.

So, when Rilke is on point - his poetry is astounding. When he is laboriously churning out some long-winded rumination - his poetry is approaches drivel.

There are not enough stars on LibraryThing for Rilke. I loved this book, which included a little sampler from each of his books, chronologically, except the Duino Elegies, which was here in its entirety. I read the Duino Elegies first and was hooked, but the others are almost as good. The Sonnets to Orpheus especially are great, and some of his stand alone poems. Also because this was roughly chronological, you can see his progression as a poet, and how he developed his ideas, themes, and writing. He's not one of those writers who repeats the same poem throughout his career. Every book here has a different flavor and feel to it, he seemed to be perpetually striving. Stephen Mitchell's translations are very satisfying. I've read a few show more other translations on the web, but none approached the ones in this book. If you read Rilke before in another translation, I urge you to give this one a try. In a bad translation, Rilke can seem overly dramatic, overly romantic, or just plain "icky". But rest assured, he is not.

Here was my original review of Duino Elegies (on 9/16/2008):

I just finished this. It's incredible. I can't believe I hadn't read this before. Poets don't write like this anymore. Who dares to tackle the enormity of these themes, the meaning of life, death, god, love, pain? All conveyed in sometimes concrete sometimes abstract language but always avoiding the easy conclusions. There are so many beautiful passages here where he just tips things slightly so that you see them askew & anew.

Then in elegy 9 he almost sounds like Stevens, talking about thing-ness and language.

Just a little taste, here's the opening of Eighth Elegy:

With all its eyes the natural world looks out
into the Open. Only our eyes are turned
backward, and surround plant, animal, child
like traps, as they emerge into their freedom.
We know what is really out there only from
the animal's gaze; for we take the very young
child and force it around, so that it sees
objects--not the Open, which is so
deep in animals' faces. Free from death,
We, only, can see death; the free animal
has its decline in back of it, forever,
and God in front, and when it moves, it moves
already in eternity, like a fountain.

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I read selections from this book when I was in college and was mesmerized by some of the verses. Having read the whole collection now, some poems speak to me more than others. There is likely a reason that certain poems were assigned and others were not. Still, this is a great collection and a fabulous translation.

Favorite Poems: Autumn Day; Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes; Requiem for a Friend; The Vast Night; The Second Elegy; The Seventh Elegy

Du im Voraus
Verlone Geliebte, Nimmergekimmene,
Nicht weiss ich, welche Tone dir lieb sind.
Nicht mehr versuch ich, dich, wenn das Kommenende wogt,
Zu erkennen. Alle die grossen
Bilder in mir, im Fernen erfahrene Landschaft,
Stadte und Turme und Brucken und un-
Vermutete Wedung der Wege
Und das Gewaltige jener von Gottern
Einst durchwachsenen Lander:
Steigt zur Bedeutung in mir
Deiner, Entgehende, an.

You who never arrived
In my arms, Beloved, who were lost
From the start,
I don't even know what songs
Would please you. I have given up trying
To recognize you in the surging wave of the next
Moment. All the immense images in me-the far-off, deeply-felt landscape,
Cities, towers, and bridges, and un-
Suspected turns in the path,
And those powerful lands that show more were once
Pulsing with the life of the gods-
All rise within me to mean
You, who forever elude me.

This has been a passage from Rilke's `You who never arrived', one of the many beautiful and profound poems in this extraordinary collection, provided with an equally extraordinary translation by Stephen Mitchell. Rilke is almost universally established as the most important European poet of the 20th century. The poems in this collection will stay in your mind and in your heart long after you finish reading. show less

Extremely uneven poet. His works range from exasperating religious crap to gems like Book of Images, Sonnets to Orpheus and Duino Elegies. At his best he makes his impact by his extraordinary perceptiveness and his knack for creating a mood, most often of the melancholic and sombre kind. His language is unparallelled in its kind; it sort of caresses our minds like gypsy music or something. Hard to translate though, so Rilke should be read in German if possible. When I have read Rilke for a while I usually start having misgivings about the substance of his poems. I think the best ones are the small observations, the images, that really make things stand out from the background and become visible. He has some philosohical aspirations, show more like in Sonnets to Orpheus. As a thinker he is not very convincing though, and even in the philosophical poems it is the small observations that are of any value. I must admit the guy annoys me very much, but at the same time he produces so much of great beauty that I'll always come back to him from time to time. show less

This was the first volume of Rilke I read, and maybe I am blinded by the whole "first love" thing, but I think it is the best translation. There is a good overall selection of his poetry, including those from his most famous works.

If you want a good overview of Rilke's work, and will only read one volume, I would recommend this. If you are looking to start into his poetry, this is a great start.

In short, I don't think you can go wrong if you buy this.