Donald Prater
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158912
- eISBN:
- 9780191673405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158912.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, European Literature
Rilke took up residence at the Château de Muzot in 1921. He began to write a sequence of poems, which he called ‘Sonnets to Orpheus’. In three days he completed a cycle of 23, in a free handling of ...
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Rilke took up residence at the Château de Muzot in 1921. He began to write a sequence of poems, which he called ‘Sonnets to Orpheus’. In three days he completed a cycle of 23, in a free handling of the classic sonnet form. Rilke then began working on the Elegies again. In February, he started a continuation of the ‘Antistrophes’ to constitute the Fifth Elegy. After the completion of the Tenth Elegy, the Elegies was later called the Duino Elegies. On 23 February Rilke also completed the manuscript of the second part of his ‘Sonnets to Orpheus’, in its final form of 29 poems. He became gravely ill in 1926 and died on the morning of 29 December in Valmont.Less
Rilke took up residence at the Château de Muzot in 1921. He began to write a sequence of poems, which he called ‘Sonnets to Orpheus’. In three days he completed a cycle of 23, in a free handling of the classic sonnet form. Rilke then began working on the Elegies again. In February, he started a continuation of the ‘Antistrophes’ to constitute the Fifth Elegy. After the completion of the Tenth Elegy, the Elegies was later called the Duino Elegies. On 23 February Rilke also completed the manuscript of the second part of his ‘Sonnets to Orpheus’, in its final form of 29 poems. He became gravely ill in 1926 and died on the morning of 29 December in Valmont.
Luke Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190685416
- eISBN:
- 9780190685454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190685416.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This essay illustrates the limitations of predominant existentialist readings of death, mortality, and authenticity in Rilke and the presence of spiritual and esoteric dimensions that also need to be ...
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This essay illustrates the limitations of predominant existentialist readings of death, mortality, and authenticity in Rilke and the presence of spiritual and esoteric dimensions that also need to be taken into account. Rilke’s distinctive conception of the unity of the realm of the living and the realm of the dead involves a marriage of existentialist and spiritual perspectives, and is part and parcel of his monistic conception of the unity of the visible and the invisible. The Sonnets to Orpheus build on Rilke’s treatment of these themes in his earlier major works (the New Poems, Malte, Duino Elegies). Rilke draws on the legend of Orpheus entering the realm of the dead (in his attempt to bring back Eurydice) through the power of his poetry/music, in order to articulate the role of poetry in facilitating an expanded awareness of the ultimate unity of existence.Less
This essay illustrates the limitations of predominant existentialist readings of death, mortality, and authenticity in Rilke and the presence of spiritual and esoteric dimensions that also need to be taken into account. Rilke’s distinctive conception of the unity of the realm of the living and the realm of the dead involves a marriage of existentialist and spiritual perspectives, and is part and parcel of his monistic conception of the unity of the visible and the invisible. The Sonnets to Orpheus build on Rilke’s treatment of these themes in his earlier major works (the New Poems, Malte, Duino Elegies). Rilke draws on the legend of Orpheus entering the realm of the dead (in his attempt to bring back Eurydice) through the power of his poetry/music, in order to articulate the role of poetry in facilitating an expanded awareness of the ultimate unity of existence.
Hannah Vandegrift Eldridge and Luke Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190685416
- eISBN:
- 9780190685454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190685416.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This coauthored introduction to the volume Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives discusses the philosophical character and reception of Rilke’s poetry and both the ...
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This coauthored introduction to the volume Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives discusses the philosophical character and reception of Rilke’s poetry and both the importance and the challenges of interpreting Rilke’s work philosophically. A claim is made for the general significance of dialogue between poetry and philosophy and for the distinctive way in which Rilke’s poetry addresses philosophical concerns. This introduction also situates The Sonnets to Orpheus—the focus of the volume—in the context of Rilke’s oeuvre (with special attention to their connections to the Duino Elegies), discusses their scholarly reception, and provides a synopsis of the essays featured in the volume and of how they unite philosophical, critical, and poetic perspectives.Less
This coauthored introduction to the volume Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives discusses the philosophical character and reception of Rilke’s poetry and both the importance and the challenges of interpreting Rilke’s work philosophically. A claim is made for the general significance of dialogue between poetry and philosophy and for the distinctive way in which Rilke’s poetry addresses philosophical concerns. This introduction also situates The Sonnets to Orpheus—the focus of the volume—in the context of Rilke’s oeuvre (with special attention to their connections to the Duino Elegies), discusses their scholarly reception, and provides a synopsis of the essays featured in the volume and of how they unite philosophical, critical, and poetic perspectives.
Hannah Vandegrift Eldridge and Luke Fischer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190685416
- eISBN:
- 9780190685454
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190685416.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives sheds new light on the philosophical significance of Rilke’s late masterpiece The Sonnets to Orpheus (1923), which Rilke wrote ...
More
Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives sheds new light on the philosophical significance of Rilke’s late masterpiece The Sonnets to Orpheus (1923), which Rilke wrote during an intensive period of inspiration in the winter of 1922. While the Duino Elegies (completed during the same period) have historically received more critical and philosophical attention than the Sonnets, this volume serves to remedy the relative neglect and illustrates the unique character and importance of the Sonnets as well as their significant connections to the Elegies. The volume features eight essays by philosophers, literary critics, and Rilke scholars, which explore a number of the central themes and motifs of the Sonnets as well as the significance of their formal qualities. An introductory essay (coauthored by the editors) situates the book in the context of philosophical poetics, the reception of Rilke as a philosophical poet, and the place of the Sonnets in Rilke’s oeuvre. The book’s premise is that an interdisciplinary approach to poetry, and more specifically to Rilke’s Sonnets, can facilitate crucial insights with the potential to expand the horizons of philosophy and criticism. The wide-ranging essays elucidate the relevance of the Sonnets to phenomenology and existentialism, hermeneutics and philosophy of language, philosophical poetics, philosophy of mythology, metaphysics, modernist aesthetics, feminism, ecocriticism, animal ethics, and philosophy of technology.Less
Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives sheds new light on the philosophical significance of Rilke’s late masterpiece The Sonnets to Orpheus (1923), which Rilke wrote during an intensive period of inspiration in the winter of 1922. While the Duino Elegies (completed during the same period) have historically received more critical and philosophical attention than the Sonnets, this volume serves to remedy the relative neglect and illustrates the unique character and importance of the Sonnets as well as their significant connections to the Elegies. The volume features eight essays by philosophers, literary critics, and Rilke scholars, which explore a number of the central themes and motifs of the Sonnets as well as the significance of their formal qualities. An introductory essay (coauthored by the editors) situates the book in the context of philosophical poetics, the reception of Rilke as a philosophical poet, and the place of the Sonnets in Rilke’s oeuvre. The book’s premise is that an interdisciplinary approach to poetry, and more specifically to Rilke’s Sonnets, can facilitate crucial insights with the potential to expand the horizons of philosophy and criticism. The wide-ranging essays elucidate the relevance of the Sonnets to phenomenology and existentialism, hermeneutics and philosophy of language, philosophical poetics, philosophy of mythology, metaphysics, modernist aesthetics, feminism, ecocriticism, animal ethics, and philosophy of technology.
