The Best of Rilke: 72 Form-True Verse Translations with Facing Originals, Commentary, and Compact Biography (English and German Edition) [Paperback]

Rainer Maria Rilke (Author), Walter Arndt (Translator), Cyrus Hamlin (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1989

A distinguished poet-translator presents faithful verse translations of 72 poems in a bilingual edition with commentary and biographical material.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A worldwide and steadily growing readership testifies to the lasting reputation of Rainer Maria Rilke (18751926) as a supreme poet of Modernism in the German-speaking countries. To be sure, his renown is primarily due to his own poetic mastery; but it must be acknowledged that generations of dedicated translators have contributed to it by making his poems accessible to non-German readers. This bilingual edition is an exceptional example of the art of translation. Walter Arndt brings to his work die gift and experience of a master translator who has met the challenges of Pushkin's poetry and Goethe's Faust, and who has also tackled the humorous verses of Wilhelm Busch. Working on a highly self-reflective level (as shown in the appendix to this edition~ Arndt knows that as a translator he has to make choices and that in the versions he offers he is guided not only by the originals but by the possibilities or limitations of the English language and his own preferences. His aim is to be as accurate as possible in both semantics and prosody, and in the majority of poems he achieves his goal. His selections are drawn primarily from the superb New Poems (1907, 1908), the poetry inspired by Rilke's contact with Rodin, Cezarme, and the work of Baudelaire. The book also includes a few poems from the Book of Images (1902) and Rilke's late poetry (after 1913), among them the "Elegy to Maria Tsvetaeva," the Russian poet and friend of Boris Pasternak. There is just one point in Arndt's renditions that puzzles me: I wonder why he capitalizes all the first words of Rilke's verses. Through capitalization his versions acquire a statuesque quality that is absent from Rilke's flowing lines and striking enjanibments. Arndt's presentations end with a concise and informative biography of Rilke. In a brilliantly executed foreword, Cyrus Hamlin (Yale University) discusses the new poetics Rilke developed and practiced in his New Poems. He connects his discussion with a sensitive and knowledgeable analysis of the two Apollo sonnets stressing Rilke's modernist innovations of the sonnet as a poetic form. Highly recommended to lovers of poetry, teachers of Rilke, and libraries. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English, German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: Dartmouth; Bilingual German-English ed. edition (May 15, 1989)
• Language: English, German
• ISBN-10: 0874514614
• ISBN-13: 978-0874514612
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,210,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Admirable Effort, Not the Best Translation, January 28, 2001

By 

Nessander - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Best of Rilke: 72 Form-True Verse Translations with Facing Originals, Commentary, and Compact Biography (English and German Edition) (Paperback)

Rilke is rapidly becoming one of the most popular poets in America -- no mean feat, considering he wrote in German! But the recognition is well deserved. Few poets can match the easy beauty of Rilke's thought, or the immediate accessibility of his poems. If you are looking to increase your appreciation of poetry (or would like to give a book to someone whom you think should), then Rilke makes a good start as any.

So there are only two questions: what book of Rilke's poetry (he was a rather prolific chap) and what translator?

Arndt's selection answers your first question for you. The selection is a good one, with most of the favourites (including "The Panther", "Pieta", etc.). Unfortunately, the translations leave quite a lot to be desired. Ardnt (who made a name for himself translating Pushkin and is a scholar of Russian - not German) attempts to retain the form of Rilke's poems (Rilke wrote structured, rhymed verse). He thus delivers lines of rhymed iambic pentamenter. Unfortunately, this means that while the poems sound nice and flow nicely, much of the beauty of Rilke's thoughts and words is lost to the necessity of form.

A particularly gruesome example is the way Arndt renders one of my favorites, "Liebes-Lied" (Love Song). Rilke's wonderful ending: "O susses Lied" (O sweet song)

ends up being translated as "O sweet the lilt", in order for it to rhyme with an earlier line ending with "tilt". Several other lines suffer along the way as well.

So, if you really want the form retained and you're willing to sacrifice a bit for it, then go for this book. Otherwise, if you want a translation that does justice to Rilke, I would suggest Edward Snow's translations, which do not retain the form, but are elegant and very true to the original German (they are also bilingual). Go for his translation of "New Poems 1907", which includes most of the good ones from this collection, including Love Song, Pieta, The Panther, and others. Unlike Arndt, Snow is an expert on Rilke, and one quickly learns to appreciate that.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No other translations come close, April 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best of Rilke: 72 Form-True Verse Translations with Facing Originals, Commentary, and Compact Biography (English and German Edition) (Paperback)

By far and away the best translations of the works of Rilke I have yet seen. I hope that Arndt translates more of Rilke's work, as the other translations I have found are pretty poor. While no translation is exact, Arndt retains the meter and ryhme, thus retaining the poetic form of Rilke's work. Reading "Pieta", and "The Orphan's Song" will bring tears to your eyes and an appreciation of the genius of both Rilke and Arndt.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Rilke, December 29, 1999

By 

Suzanne - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Rilke: 72 Form-True Verse Translations with Facing Originals, Commentary, and Compact Biography (English and German Edition) (Paperback)

The Best of Rilke is a wonderfully put together publication of his poetry. The poems are beautiful in German and English. In some of the poems, the book also offers multiple translations that each give a slightly different view on the poem. I am a student in German IB, in junior high, and I found this book very easy to use and well-translated. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Rilke's works.