Duino Elegies, Bilingual edition (University of North Carolina studies in the Germanic languages & literatures, no. 81) [Paperback]

Rainer Maria Rilke (Author), C F MacIntyre (Translator)

Book Description

Series: University of North Carolina studies in the Germanic languages & literatures, no. 81 | Publication Date: August 1, 1961

Rilke considered the Elegies his greatest achievement. Begun in 1912 at the castle of Duino near Trieste, these ten Elegies were finally completed after a decade of sporadic and protracted creation, in the winter of 1922. They are part of the same creative vein from which erupted, spontaneously and in far briefer time, the Sonnets to Orpheus.
As MacIntyre suggests, these elegies "indubitably . . . will take their place among the great and unforgettable poetry of the world." They have already been singled out critically as "the most impresive sequence of great poetry in modern European literature."
In this compact volume, the German original text is printed face to face with the translations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Duino Elegies: 1
Duino Elegies: 10
Duino Elegies: 2
Duino Elegies: 3
Duino Elegies: 4
Duino Elegies: 5
Duino Elegies: 6
Duino Elegies: 7
Duino Elegies: 8
Duino Elegies: 9
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; Bilingual ed edition (August 1, 1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520010736
• ISBN-13: 978-0520010734
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,643,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, July 14, 2000

By 

Ricardo Signes "rjbs" (Bethlehem, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Duino Elegies, Bilingual edition (University of North Carolina studies in the Germanic languages & literatures, no. 81) (Paperback)

"For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror we can just barely endure, and we admire it so because it calmly disdains to destroy us. Every angel is terrible." - Rainer Maria Rilke, First Elegy

The Duino Elegies are quite possibly the greatest work of Rainer Maria Rilke, himself one of the greatest poets, German language or otherwise, of all time. The elegies, writen in the cold vast chambers of Duino Castle, deal with all the greatest issues of human existence: love, death, tragedy, God, and life's very meaning. Their language reflects their origin: like the Castle's empty stone hallways, the words are perfectly formed; they are fragile and beautiful; weightless and profound. Rilke's first elegy begins with a reflection on the awesome, terrifying power of beauty. He longs to experience it, but knows that it would destroy him. As he writes on, the reader grows to understand and feel not only Rilke's longing, but his fear. The terrible beauty, looming behind all the elegies, is present in the text. The poems inspire wonder, raise profound quetions with ineffable answers, and fills us with awe as it calmly disdains to destroy us.

The German text is perfect, but MacIntyre's translation is splendid and best conveys the work's haunting and desolate undertones. While it seems to me that everyone should own and cherish the Duino Elegies, it is an absolute requirement for anyone seeking to construct a serious collection of great poetry.