8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

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Rilke in 1900, aged 24

Born Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann JosefMaria Rilke

4 December 18! "rag#e, $ohemia, %#s&ria'(#n

Died 29 December 192* +aged !1 Mon&re#-, ./i&erland

Occupation oe&, noelis&

Nationality %#s&rian

Period 18943192!

Signature

Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rile (4

December 1875 29 December 1926) better known asRainer Maria Rile (German: [ a n ma i a lk! ) was a "o#emian$%&strian 'oet an noelist* +wiel,

reco-ni.e as one o/ t#e most l,ricall, intense German$

lan-&a-e'oets+*[1!

writin- in bot# erse an #i-#l, l,rical'rose0 eeral critics #ae escribe ilke3s work as

in#erentl, +m,stical+0[2![!is writin-s incl&e one noel*

seeral collections o/ 'oetr,* an seeral ol&mes o/corres'onence in w#ic# #e inokes #a&ntin- ima-es t#at

/oc&s on t#e i//ic&lt, o/ comm&nion wit# t#e ine//able in

an a-e o/ isbelie/* solit&e* an 'ro/o&n aniet,0 #ese

ee'l, eistential t#emes ten to 'osition #im as atransitional /i-&re between t#e traitional an t#e moernist

writers0

ilke was born in t#e %&stro$&n-arian m'ire* traelleetensiel, t#ro&-#o&t &ro'e an ort# %/rica* incl&in-

&ssia* 'ain* German,* rance* ;tal,* an in #is later

,ears settle in wit.erlansettin-s t#at were ke, to

t#e -enesis an ins'iration /or man, o/ #is 'oems0

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Rilke, &hree )ears

old, circa 1883

Kinelbergers, /ho lied in a ho#se on &he (errengasse

+"ansk 8, /here Ren also sen& man) of his earl) )ears6

:he rela&ionshi be&/een "hia and her onl) son /as

colored b) her mo#rning for a rior child, a da#gh&er, /ho

had died af&er onl) a /eek of life6 D#ring Rilke;s earl) )ears

"hia ac&ed as if she so#gh& &o recoer &he los& girl &hro#gh&he bo) b) dressing him in girl;s clo&hing6 rom 1892 &o 189! he /as

&ored for &he #niersi&) en&rance e-am, /hich he assed

in 189!6 ?n&il 189* he sdied li&erare, ar& his&or), and

hilosoh) in "rag#e

8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

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D#ino 5as&le near :ries&e,@&al), /as /here Rilke

began /ri&ing &he Duino

Elegies in 1912A

reco#n&ing &ha& he heard

&he famo#s firs& line as a

oice in &he /ind /hile

/alking along &he cliffs

"a#la Modersohn'$ecker

+18*3190, an earl)

e-ressionis& ain&er, became

acB#ain&ed /i&h Rilke in

Wors/ede and "aris, and

%t /irst* ilke #a a i//ic&lt time in Faris* an e'erience t#at #e calle on in t#e /irst 'art o/ #is

onl, noel* The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge0 %t t#e same time* #is enco&nter wit#moernism was er, stim&latin-: ilke became ee'l, inole in t#e sc&l't&re o/ oin* ant#en wit# t#e work o/ Fa&l .anne0 or a time #e acte as

oin3s secretar,* also lect&rin- an writin- a lon- essa, on

oin an #is work0 oin ta&-#t #im t#e al&e o/ obEectieobseration* an &ner t#is in/l&ence ilke ramaticall,

trans/orme #is 'oetic st,le /rom t#e s&bEectie an

sometimes incantator, lan-&a-e o/ #is earlier work intosomet#in- ?&ite new in &ro'ean literat&re0 #e res&lt was

t#eNew Poems* /amo&s /or t#e +t#in-$'oems+ e'ressin- ilke3s reE&enate artistic ision0 #e'oems o/ t#eNew PoemsanNew Poems The Other Partare #i-#l, wro&-#t* &sin- lan-&a-ean 'oetic /orm as a s#a'e an s#a'in- materialH to t#is etent t#e 'oems are o/ten sai to be+t#in-s+ in t#emseles0 D&rin- t#ese ,ears* Faris increasin-l, became t#e writer3s main

resience0

#e most im'ortant works o/ t#e Faris 'erio were Neue !edi"hte (New Poems) (19=7)*DerNeuen !edi"hte #nderer Teil (#nother Part of the New Poems) (19=8)* t#e two +e?&iem+'oems (19=9)* an t#e noel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge* starte in 19=4 ancom'lete in Ian&ar, 191=0 #e weis# a&t#or CirEam a''er #as eite a book on ilke3s sta,

in Faris* w#ere s#e re/lecte on t#e man, aresses ilke lie at an trie to /in t#e correlationbetween #is sta, t#ere an #is 'oems0 #e title o/ t#e book: $esa med $ilke(rael wit# ilke)*Cita bok/Jrla- 2=1=0 % c#a'ter in t#e book also eals wit# ilke3s sickness an eat#0

D&rin- t#e later 'art o/ t#is ecae ilke s'ent etene 'erios inona* t#e /amo&s b&ll$

/i-#tin- centre in so&t#ern 'ain0 #ere #e ke't a 'ermanent room at t#e otel eina >ictoria(b&ilt in 19=6) w#ere #is room remains to t#is a, as #e le/t it* a mini$m&se&m o/ ilkeana0

D#ino and &he >irs& World War +1911'1919

$e&/een Cc&ober 1911 and Ma) 1912, Rilke s&a)ed

a& &he 5as&le D#ino, near:ries&e, home of "rincess

Marieof:h#rn #nd :a-is6 :here, in 1912, he began

&he oem c)cle called &he Duino Elegies, /hich

/o#ld remain #nfinished for a decade beca#se of a

long'las&ing crea&ii&) crisis6 :he o#&break of World

War @s#rrised Rilke d#ring a s&a) in erman)6 (e

/as #nable &o rern &o "aris, /here his roer&)

/as confisca&ed and a#c&ioned6 (e sen& &hegrea&er ar& of &he /ar in M#nich6 >rom 1914 &o

191* he had a rb#len& affair /i&h &he ain&er Eo#

%lber&'Easard6 Rilke /as called # a& &he beginning

of 191*, and he had &o #nder&ake basic &raining in

Fienna6 @nfl#en&ial friends in&erceded on his behalf,

and he /as &ransferred &o &he War Records Cffice

and discharged from &he mili&ar) on 9 J#ne 191*6 (e

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebooks_of_Malte_Laurids_Briggehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_C%C3%A9zannehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Poemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triestehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_branch_of_the_House_of_Thurn_and_Taxis#Alexander_and_Marie_von_Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_branch_of_the_House_of_Thurn_and_Taxis#Alexander_and_Marie_von_Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebooks_of_Malte_Laurids_Briggehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_C%C3%A9zannehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Poemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triestehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_branch_of_the_House_of_Thurn_and_Taxis#Alexander_and_Marie_von_Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_branch_of_the_House_of_Thurn_and_Taxis#Alexander_and_Marie_von_Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_branch_of_the_House_of_Thurn_and_Taxis#Alexander_and_Marie_von_Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurn_und_Taxishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albert-Lasard

8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

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5hG&ea# de M#o& in

Fe)ras, ./i&erland, /as

/here Rilke comle&ed

/ri&ing &he Duino Elegies

in a saage crea&ie

sen& &he s#bseB#en& &ime once again in M#nich, in&err#&ed b) a s&a) on (er&ha

Koenig;s #& $ockel in Wes&halia6 :he &ra#ma&ic e-erience of mili&ar) serice, a

reminder of &he horrors of &he mili&ar) academ), almos& comle&el) silenced him as

a oe&6

./i&erland and M#o& +1919'192*

Kn 11 I&ne 1919* ilke traele /rom C&nic# towit.erlan0 #e o&twar motie was an initation to

lect&re in L&ric#* b&t t#e real reason was t#e wis# to esca'e

t#e 'ost$war c#aos an take &' #is work on t#e DuinoElegiesonce a-ain0 #e searc# /or a s&itable an a//orable'lace to lie 'roe to be er, i//ic&lt0 %mon- ot#er

'laces* ilke lie in o-lio* Aocarno* an "er- am ;rc#el0

Knl, in mi$1921 was #e able to /in a 'ermanent resiencein t#e #Mtea& e C&.ot in t#e comm&ne o/ >e,ras* close to

ierre in >alais0 ;n an intense creatie 'erio* ilke

com'lete t#eDuino Elegiesin seeral weeks in ebr&ar,19220 "e/ore an a/ter* ilke ra'il, wrote bot# 'arts o/ t#e

'oem c,cle Sonnets to Orpheus containin- 55 entiresonnets0 "ot# works to-et#er #ae o/ten been taken asconstit&tin- t#e #i-# 'oints o/ ilke3s work0 ;n Ca, 1922*

ilke3s 'atron

8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

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Rilke;s grae in Raron, ./i&erland

#ortl, be/ore #is eat# ilke3s illness was ia-nose as le&kemia0 e s&//ere &lcero&s sores in

#is mo&t#* 'ain tro&ble #is stomac# an intestines* an #e str&--le wit# increasin-l, low

s'irits0[2=!K'en$e,e* #e ie in t#e arms o/ #is octor on December 29* 1926 in t#e >almontanatori&m in wit.erlan0 e was b&rie on 2 Ian&ar, 1927 in t#earoncemeter, to t#e west

o/ >is'0[2=!

ilke #a c#osen as #is own e'ita'# t#is 'oem:

ose* o# reiner

8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

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Letters to a Young

Poet, coer of &he1974 edi&ion

ilke be-an writin- t#e ele-ies in 1912 w#ile a -&est o/ Frincess Carie on #&rn &n ais

(1855194) atD&ino astle* near riesteon t#e %riatic ea0D&rin- t#is ten$,ear 'erio* t#e

ele-ies lan-&is#e incom'lete /or lon- stretc#es o/ time as ilke s&//ere /re?&entl, /rom seeree'ressionsome o/ w#ic# was ca&se b, t#e eents o/

8/13/2019 Ren Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke

7/9)ears af&er his dea&h b) Eeonid"as&ernak

&o him /hen he /as a 19')ear old officer cade& sd)ing a& &he:heresian Mili&ar)

%cadem) in Wiener He#s&ad&6 :he )o#ng Ka#s /ro&e &o Rilke, /ho had also

a&&ended &he academ), be&/een 1902 and 1908 /hen he /as #ncer&ain abo#& his

f#re career as a mili&ar) officer or as a oe&6 @ni&iall), he so#gh& Rilke;s adice as

&o &he B#ali&) of his oe&r), and /he&her he o#gh& &o #rs#e /ri&ing as a career6

While he declined &o commen& on Ka#s;s /ri&ings, Rilke adised Ka#s on ho/ aoe& sho#ld feel, loe, and seek &r#&h in &r)ing &o #nders&and and e-erience &he

/orld aro#nd him and engage &he /orld of ar&6 :hese le&&ers offer insigh& in&o &he

ideas and &hemes &ha& aear in Rilke;s oe&r) and his /orking rocess6 >#r&her,

&hese le&&ers /ere /ri&&en d#ring a ke) eriod of Rilke;s earl) ar&is&ic deelomen&

af&er his re#&a&ion as a oe& began &o be es&ablished /i&h &he #blica&ion of ar&s

of Das StundenBu!h +The Book of Hours and Das Bu!h der Bilder +The Book of

"#ages6

Rilkes li&erar) s&)le

i-&res /rom Greek m,t#olo-, (e0-0 %'ollo*ermes* Kr'#e&s) rec&r as moti/s in #is 'oems anare e'icte in ori-inal inter'retations (e0-0 in t#e 'oem Orpheus* Eur+di"e* ,ermes* ilke3s&r,ice*n&mbe an a.e b, eat#* oes not reco-ni.e #er loer Kr'#e&s* w#o escene to

#ell to recoer #er)0 Kt#er rec&rrin- /i-&res in ilke3s 'oems are an-els* rosesan a c#aracter o/a 'oet an #is creatie work0

ilke o/ten worke wit# meta'#ors*

meton,m, an contraictions (e0-0 in #is

e'ita'#* t#e rose is a s,mbol o/ slee' rose'etals are reminiscent o/ close e,elis)0

ilke3s little$known 1898 'oem* +>isionso/ #rist+ e'icte Car, Ca-aleneas t#e

mot#er to Ies&s3 c#il0[![4!

P&otin- &san askins: +;t was ilke3se'licit belie/ t#at #rist was not iine*

was entirel, #&man* an ei/ie onl, on

alar,* e'resse in an &n'&blis#e 'oemo/ 189* an re/erre to in ot#er 'oems o/

t#e same 'erio* w#ic# allowe #im to

'ortra, #rist3s loe /or Car, Ca-alen*

t#o&-# remarkable* as entirel, #&man0+

Eegac)

;n t#e @nite tates* ilke is one o/ t#e more 'o'&lar* best$sellin- 'oetsalon- wit# 1t#$cent&r, &/i m,stic &mi

+!he Wal+C, e,es alrea, to&c# t#e s&nn, #ill*

-oin- /ar a#ea o/ t#e roa ; #ae be-&n0

o we are -ras'e b, w#at we cannot -ras'H

it #as its inner li-#t* een /rom a istance

an c#an-es &s* een i/ we o not reac# it*into somet#in- else* w#ic#* #arl, sensin- it* we

alrea, areH

a -est&re waes &s on* answerin- o&r own wae 000

b&t w#at we /eel is t#e win in o&r /aces0

+#e

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(12=7127)* an 2=t#$cent&r, Aebanese$%merican 'oet B#alil Gibran (188191)0[8! ;n

'o'&lar c&lt&re* ilke is /re?&entl, ?&ote or re/erence in teleision 'ro-rams* motion 'ict&res*

m&sic an ot#er works w#en t#ese works isc&ss t#e s&bEect o/ loe or an-els0 [6!"eca&se o/ #iswork bein- escribe as +m,stical*+ ilke3s works #ae also been a''ro'riate /or &se b, t#e

ew %-ecomm&nit, an insel/$#el'books0[4!ilke #as been reinter'rete +as a master w#o can

lea &s to a more /&l/ille an less anio&s li/e0+[5![7!

ilke3s work* an s'eci/icall,* t#e Duino Elegies#ae been claime as a ee' in/l&ence b,seeral 'oets an writers* incl&in- Galwa, Binnell*[8!ine, Be,es*[9![4=!te'#en 'ener*[22!

obert "l,*[22![41!

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Duineser Elegien(Duino Elegies) (1922)

Sonette an Orpheus(Sonnets to Orpheus) (1922)

Prose collections

!es"hi"hten 6om Lieben !ott(Stories of !od) (ollection o/ tales* 19==) #uguste $odin(19=)

Die %eise 6on Liebe und Tod des 0ornets 0hristoph $ilke (The La+ of the Lo6e andDeath of 0ornet 0hristoph $ilke) (A,ric stor,* 19=6)

Die #uf8ei"hnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge(The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge)(oel* 191=)

%etters

"ollected letters

!esammelte Briefe in se"hs B-nden(0olle"ted Letters in Si9 1olumes)* '&blis#e b,&t# ieber$ilke an arl ieber0 Aei'.i- (196199)

Briefe(Letters)* '&blis#e b, t#e ilke %rc#ie in erla-* 1928) Briefwe"hsel mit Marie 6on Thurn und Ta9is* two ol&mes* eite b, rnst Linn wit# a

/orwar b, &ol/ Bassner (itions Ca ie#ans* 1954)

Briefwe"hsel mit Thankmar 6on M;n"hhausen .erla-* 2==2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnets_to_Orpheushttp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Weise_von_Liebe_und_Tod_des_Cornets_Christoph_Rilkehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebooks_of_Malte_Laurids_Briggehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnets_to_Orpheushttp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Weise_von_Liebe_und_Tod_des_Cornets_Christoph_Rilkehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebooks_of_Malte_Laurids_Brigge