Duino Elegies: A Bilingual Edition [Hardcover]

Rainer Maria Rilke (Author), Edward Snow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2000

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angelic
orders? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly to his heart: I'd be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we can just barely endure,
and we stand in awe of it as it coolly disdains
to destroy us. Every angel is terrifying.
-from "The First Elegy"

Over the last fifteen years, in his two volumes of New Poems as well as in The Book of Images and Uncollected Poems, Edward Snow has emerged as one of Rainer Maria Rilke's most able English-language interpreters. In his translations, Snow adheres faithfully to the intent of Rilke's German while constructing nuanced, colloquial poems in English.

Written in a period of spiritual crisis between 1912 and 1922, the poems that compose the Duino Elegies are the ones most frequently identified with the Rilkean sensibility. With their symbolic landscapes, prophetic proclamations, and unsettling intensity, these complex and haunting poems rank among the outstanding visionary works of the century.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Named for the castle of his patroness, which overlooked the Adriatic, the ten Duino Elegies, spanning a decade in their composition, are esteemed by many of Rilkes American admirers, as well as by the poet himself, as marking the pinnacle of his career. That popularity no doubt explains the number of translations of this work in recent years. Its been said that reading a translation is like looking at a tapestry from the back: The broad shapes and bold outlines remain discernible, but it is too crude a representation to permit nuances of color and texture. Its also been remarked that the entire German language consists of a single root word and all the rest are prefixes and suffixes. As if these were not obstacle enough in the translators path, there is Rilkes own pronouncement that nothing means anything beyond what is stated in his poems, as though all allusion were solely in the readers imagination. Edward Snow (English/Rice Univ.), whose Rilke translations have been honored by the Academy of American Poets, is neither deterred nor waylaid. These are intense and symbolically complex poems. It must be tempting to get caught up in mystical metaphors and in the linguistic legerdemain that turns Dastehen into the inelegant English ``being-thereness.'' But Snow sidesteps most of that academic glossing and renders the elegies in a more colloquial English, whose immediacy goes far in translating the poets often haunted intensity. Even if ones shelves are bowed with translations of the elegies, it might be time to replace an older ``classical'' version with this fresher bilingual edition. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"I have been engrossed in English versions of the Duino Elegies for years, and Snow's is by far the most radiant and, as far as I can tell, the most faithful . . . Reading this rendition provided new revelations into Rilke's symbolic landscapes of art, death, love, and time."--Frederic Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)

"This translation of the Elegies is the finest that I have ever read . . . Snow has gradually been building a reputation as Rilke's best contemporary translator in English. His version of the Elegies should cement that reputation, and elevate it."--Brian Phillips, The New Republic

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press; 1st edition (February 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865475466
• ISBN-13: 978-0865475465
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Acclaimed translator gives us the "Duino Elegies", May 8, 2000

By 

Jonathan Mayhew (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Duino Elegies: A Bilingual Edition (Hardcover)

Edward Snow is one of the most respected translators of Rilke. He's been working his way through Rilke's poetry and now offers a superb version of the "Duino Elegies," long considered the high point of Rilke's career.

There are many existing translations of Rilke's masterpiece, of varying quality. Snow's version reads quite well and compares favorably to acclaimed versions by Mitchell and others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ein Werk für das Unendliche, October 14, 2004

By 

joão artur santos (lisboa, portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duino Elegies: A Bilingual Edition (Hardcover)

Rilkes Duineser Elegien stehen an der Spitze, was die poetische Schöpfung des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts betrifft. Sie sind ein metaphysisches Nachdenken über den Menschen und die Realität. Rilke überlegt sich die menschliche Bestimmung. Dafür, dass das Leben eine vorübergehende und peinliche Erfahrung ist, zeigt er uns die Engel als ein überbewusstes Wesen. Im Gegensatz zu dem Menschen wohnen sie an einem offenen Raum. Es gelingt Ihnen das Leben und den Tod zu vereinigen.Dort findet das reine Geschehen statt. Wegen ihres selbstlosen Erlebnis sind die Helden, die Liebenden, die Kinder und die früh Verstorbenen nah daran, nach den Ordnungen der Engel zu gelangen.
Die verkündete Nacht ist zu der Schein-Unsichtbar Verwandlung geneigt, weil sie eine tiefere Wahrnehmung ermöglicht. Rilkes poetische Sprache, Rhythmus und Bildnis sind atemlos.

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, October 22, 2011

By 

H. Bissell "~Mariquita~" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Duino Elegies: A Bilingual Edition (Paperback)

I purchased this book as one of several to read for my Master's degree in poetry. Of the fifteen books I have read thus far, this is absolutely my favorite book. Although I wish I could read the original german, Snow's translation reads flawlessly. The language is beautiful and obviously carefully chosen. It is also interesting to have both the german and the english running side-by-side. The poetry itself is absolutely stunning. Rilke's use of metaphor and synechdoche are brilliant. I highly recommend this book to any poet, or any admirer of the craft.