The Cambridge Companion to Rilke

by Karen Leeder (Editor), Robert Vilain (Editor)

Overview

Often regarded as the greatest German poet of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) remains one of the most influential figures of European modernism. In this Companion, leading scholars offer informative and thought-provoking essays on his life and social context, his correspondence, all his major collections of poetry including most famously the Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, and his seminal novel of Modernist anxiety, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. Rilke's critical contexts are explored in detail: his relationship with philosophy and the visual arts, his place within modernism and his relationship to European literature, and his reception in Europe and beyond. With its invaluable guide to further reading and a chronology of Rilke's life and work, this Companion will provide an accessible, engaging account of this extraordinary poet whose legacy looms so large today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521879439
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/21/2010
Series:	Cambridge Companions to Literature
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Karen Leeder is Professor of Modern German Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of New College.

Robert Vilain is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Notes on contributors viii

Chronology xi

Abbreviations, references and translations xviii

Introduction Karen Leeder Robert Vilain 1

Part I Life

1 Rilke: a biographical exploration Rüdiger Görner 9

2 The status of the correspondence in Rilke's work Ulrich Baer 27

Part II Works

3 Early poems Charlie Louth 41

4 The New Poems William Waters 59

5 The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge Andreas Huyssen 74

6 The Duino Elegies Kathleen L. Komar 80

7 The Sonnets to Orpheus Thomas Martinec 95

Part III Cultural Contexts, Influences, Reception

8 Rilke and modernism Andreas Kramer 113

9 Rilke the reader Robert Villain 131

10 Rilke and the visual arts Helen Bridge 145

11 Rilke: thought and mysticism Paul Bishop 159

12 Rilke and his philosophical critics Anthony Phelan 174

13 Rilke's legacy in the English-speaking world Karen Leeder 189

Appendix: Poem titles 206

Guide to further reading 213

Index 219

Index of works 224