The Sonnets to Orpheus

"The Sonnets to Orpheus" represents perhaps the most amazing outpouring of concentrated poetic achievement in world literature, and is recognized as one of the masterpieces of the twentieth century. Dedicated to the memory of a young woman whose premature death deeply affected him, "these strange Sonnets," Rilke wrote, "appeared, often many in one day, completely unexpectedly…I could do nothing but surrender, purely and obediently, to the dictation of this inner impulse." Now the entire cycle of 55 sonnets has been translated into English verse by Stephen Mitchell, the preeminent translator of Rilke in our time. This edition includes the German text of each poem facing the English translation; an introductory essay; extensive notes; and new translations of auxiliary sonnets and fragments.

6 x 8 trim. Frontis LC 87-6146