Review (PDF) Duino Elegies & The Sonnets To Orpheus: A Dual-Language Edition (Vintage International)
Available for the first time in a single volume, Ranier Maria Rilke’s two most beloved sequences of poems rendered by his most faithful translator. Rilke is unquestionably the twentieth century’s most significant and compelling poet of romantic transformation and spiritual quest. His poems of ecstatic identification with the world exert perennial fascination. In Stephen Mitchell’s versions of Rilke’s two greatest masterpieces readers will discover an English rendering that captures the lyric intensity, fluency, and reach of his poetry. Stephen Mitchell adheres impeccably to Rilke’s text, to his formal music, and to the complexity of his thought; at the same time, Mitchell’s work has authority and power as poetry in its own right.
Series: Vintage International
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Bilingual edition (October 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307473732
ISBN-13: 978-0307473738
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #151,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #28 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > German #141 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > European > German #1005 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Criticism & Theory
Ok, so many times I purchase a collection of poems that have been translated into English and I am disappointed. The translations are often times very flat and lose the rhythmic and lyrical quality or the translations are highly ornamental but lose the poetry's meaning and depth. Stephen Mitchell's translations manage to capture the rhythmic and lyrical quality while also conveying the poetry's meaning and depth. These translations are powerful and moving. Mitchell is a master translator and I am in awe.
When I started Steven Mitchell's translation of the Odyssey I was at first disappointed. It just didn't seem as poetic as other translations. But I was quickly gathered in by it. It just made you want to keep reading whereas the more poetic ones were beautiful but often a struggle. Dunno Elegies and Orpheus are similar. He has an almost plain spoken style but you do get drawn in and it is very readable. My other version was translated by Poulin. Also good but different. I'm not done yet but I continually dip into it.
Far from perfect, this remains the one translation of the Elegies and Sonnets into English that is consistently viable and readable and manages to communicate some sense of the original.
Why I have not read Rilke until late in life I can not say. But, I can say I'm very glad I finally did. Clear, cool, transcendently beautiful. Give yourself a wonderful present; Rainer Maria Rilke
Beautiful text. And arrived in perfect condition. Mystic poetry from a master of writing about emptiness, solitude, and the agony of attempting otherwise.
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