Bibliograph

Sonnets to Orpheus

Type

Label

Sonnets to Orpheus

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Sonnets to Orpheus

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

Wesleyan poetry in translation

Summary

COMPOSED IN A BURST of inspiration near the end of the poet's life, Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus represents the consummation of the writer's career, distilling the essence of his poetic wisdom in a gem-like sequence. This new translation--with the original German on facing pages--offers a clear window into the world of this endlessly scintillating cycle of poems. "Daniel Polikoff's English version of Rilke's last sonnet sequence, perhaps his greatest work, is wholly admirable. Rilke's late work is extremely difficult to penetrate. Both its conceptual nature and Rilke's unique use of the German language tend to resist interpretation. Astonishingly, Polikoff has found ways of rendering Rilke's complexities into English and also preserving his metrical and rhyme schemes. Such an accomplishment is possible only with a deep understanding of Rilke's vision and a knowledge of the root structure of German

Target audience

adult

Classification