Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke

Robert Bly’s commentary alone makes this book well worth the price. His translation exudes a sense of fidelity to RMR’s word, tone, and spirit like no other.

This collection of Bly's translations were my introduction to Rilke close to 40 years ago and it remains one of the best collections of his poems I know. The selection, from throughout Rilke's career, is wide and varied and hits a lot of the highlight; Bly's intros to each section are engaging and insightful, and his translations are beautifully rendered: warm and conversational, without some of the awkward phrasing that translators often seem to turn to to get some of the nuances in Rilke's sensibility. Whether you're new to Rilke or already have a lot of his work, this will be a great addition to your collection

Highly Recommended

Mr. Bly's collection includes the two most famous poems by Rilke, Der Panther ("The panther") and Herbsttag ("October Day"), but mostly it reflects the editor's personal taste. For example, he omits the Duino Elegies because, among other things, he is not convinced they belong to Rilke's best work: "There's something about them that is admirable but not likeable."Bly has a good sense for the troubled life of Rilke and the inner strength that enabled Rilke to produce his art (a situation not unlike that of Hermann Hesse, whose poems Rilke once classified as being "on the verge of art"). Despite Rilke's neuroticism, his rootlessness, and his difficult relationships, for Bly, Rilke "stands for toughness, freedom from self-pity, ability to work, whatever one's life situation."Bly states that he wants to be true to the sound of the poems, but his translations are quite matter-of-fact and lose a lot of the lyrical qualities of the German original. If you are looking for a translation that captures the spirit and sound of Rilke's poetry better than Bly's efforts, try Stephen Mitchell's The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (also available in this fine electronic store).To give you an idea of the difference in quality, let me compare the translations of the first stanza of the first of the Sonnets to Orpheus. The original in German is: Da stieg ein Baum. O reine Uebersteigung! / O Orpheus singt! O hoher Baum im Ohr! / Und alles schweigt. Doch selbst in der Verschweigung / ging neuer Anfang, Wink und Wandlung vor.Bly translates: A tree rising. What a pure growing! / Orpheus is singing! A tree inside the ear! / Silence, silence. Yet new buildings, / signals, and changes went on in the silence. (nice try at the "s-s" sounds, but why does he drop the "tall" - a nice alliteration to "tree"? And isn't it a bit cruel to the English language to write "buildings ... went on in the silence"?)Mitchell translates: A tree ascended there. Oh pure transcendence! / Oh Orpheus sings! Oh tall tree in the ear! / And all things hushed. Yet even in that silence / a new beginning, beckoning, change appeared.To give you an idea of the genius of the second translation, consider the following: "stieg" means "rose", but "stieg auf" means "ascended"; "ging...vor" means "happened", but "ging...hervor" means "appeared". Mitchell probed the connotations of the German verbs, and pushed their meaning - within the limits of the German original - to achieve a more poignant, vibrating, powerful quality in the English translation. Also, his use of alliteration is much closer to the spirit of the German original. Unable to keep the alliteration of Oh-Ohr, he employs tall-tree and and-all. On a personal note, I very much admire the choice of the verb "hushed" with its "shshsh" sound as a translation for the most important noun in the first stanza: "Verschweigung" (a neologism built from "verschweigen" (to conceal, to be silent), and "Verzweigung" (branching)). The "shshsh" sound keeps the many "s" and "sch" sounds you can hear when you read the first stanza (in German) aloud, and it is just as evocative of the sound of wind in a tree as the German original. That is an amazing achievement.

While I sympathize with those who complain that the translation lacks precision, it has awesome power. I heard Robert Bly read many of these poems in his translation, and they were impressed on my soul. I've taken further liberties with them myself in repeating them in public talks. I find that Bly gets to the essence of the feeling far more effectively than a more careful translator like Steven Mitchell.

I am a huge Rilke fan and tend to buy/read everything I can find, and then obsess over the translations. I do not speak German but at times I have considered doing so for the sole purpose of translating Rilke. That being said, I was excited to see this edition because I am also a fan of the poetry of Robert Bly. Sadly, I agree with some of the reviewers on here that I think there is something about Bly's translations that is lacking. The beauty and swaying rhythm of the words seem to be cut out, and the result is a simplistic, awkwardly constructed line of verse. Also, Bly's decision to not include the Duino Elegies here absolutely blows my mind. Here is probably one of the greatest poems of all time, ever, and Bly thinks it's not good enough to include? Huh? Anyway, if you are a diehard Rilke fan no book of Rilke will be a poor choice, or probably unloved on your bookshelf, but so far I consider Stephen Mitchell's translations the best version I have read.

I haven't read as many different translations of Rilke as I would like and my German is minimal (though improving). That said, I find Bly's translations heartbreakingly beautiful. How much of this is Bly himself and how much is Rilke is, I suppose, what is up for debate. If, studying further translations, I find it necessary to call this book more a co-authorship than a literal translation I don't think that would be any kind of slight on either author. Translation is deeply associated with interpretation. Language and meaning are personal so each translation, quite properly shows as much of the translator as the author. The style that I associate with Rilke - the simplicity and the inexpressable depth - comes through very very clearly in these poems. The flavour of them seems more right to me than in most other translations I have read. I only skimmed a few of the reviews here but if indeed there is a debate raging about the job of a translator some people might enjoy reading Douglas Hofstadter's book Le Ton Beau de Marot. It's an interesting examination of the difficulties and delights of translation (with a focus on poetry) inspired and informed by his work with translators of his better known work, Godel, Escher, Bach. Scholarly bit said, Bly's translations grabbed me the moment I read them and I consider this book one of my most precious possessions. And Bly, I think, gains himself some artistic license (more than he would have otherwise...) by including the German so that a passionate reader with some knowledge of German can evaluate his translations for his or herself. Sorry for the rambliness of this.

This book includes the original German, good translation in English, and enlightening commentary

リルケの若いころの詩には、もっと明るいものがあったが、これは暗いものばかり。20世紀初頭から第一次世界大戦の敗北後までのドイツ・オーストリアの気分を色濃く映していると思う。老齢者には何の喜びも与えない。