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francisabernathysbff's review against another edition
3.0
no thoughts, head empty. this was a bit hard to read for me but it also gave me a lot of satisfaction because while i definitely didn't understand all of this, i still tried to make my own theories about it (which are probably wrong, but still). all of the elegies were beautifully written (and extremely confusing) but my favorite ones were number six, seven and ten.
demydreamin's review against another edition
4.0
Will almost certainly become a 5 star on reread. I'm still very new to poetry and I'm not used to this longer form
luda_12's review against another edition
5.0
Rilke's way of writing is beautiful, lyrical, and breathtaking. While I was reading each Elegie I had a smile on my face because it was that beautiful. His thoughts of life and death, youth and growing up, love and sorrow are remarkably well written and explored. Melancholy and solitude are two basic ideas that he discusses and he does in such a way that makes you feel like you're experiencing all of the emotions at once. You feel everything and nothing at the same time. That's how I'd describe this collection. The build-up from the first to the tenth Elegie is magnificent and very methodic. Each Elegie stands on each own yet by the end, everything is intervened in the most satisfying way.
Rilke uses a lot of metaphors and gets his inspiration from Nature and he describes everything in a lovely way. I could go on and on about how amazing this collection is. But I don't think I would give it justice nor that I have fully comprehended its greatness.
truly a masterpiece!
Rilke uses a lot of metaphors and gets his inspiration from Nature and he describes everything in a lovely way. I could go on and on about how amazing this collection is. But I don't think I would give it justice nor that I have fully comprehended its greatness.
truly a masterpiece!
ambi2's review against another edition
4.0
“Love the questions and perhaps you’ll love your way into the answers...
And you yourself
what do you know?
You stirred up
prehistory
in your lover.
...
That’s what fate means:
to be facing each other
and nothing but each other
and to be doing it forever.
...
Who has turned us around this way
so that we’re always
whatever we do
in the posture of someone
who is leaving?
Like a man
on the final hill
that shows him
his whole valley
one last time
who turns and stands there
lingering —
that’s how we live
always
saying goodbye.
...
Between the hammer strokes
our hearts survive
like the tongue
that between the teeth
and in spite of everything
goes on praising.
...
Look, I’m living.
On what?
Neither my childhood nor my future
is growing smaller . . .
Being
in excess
wells up
in my heart.”
And you yourself
what do you know?
You stirred up
prehistory
in your lover.
...
That’s what fate means:
to be facing each other
and nothing but each other
and to be doing it forever.
...
Who has turned us around this way
so that we’re always
whatever we do
in the posture of someone
who is leaving?
Like a man
on the final hill
that shows him
his whole valley
one last time
who turns and stands there
lingering —
that’s how we live
always
saying goodbye.
...
Between the hammer strokes
our hearts survive
like the tongue
that between the teeth
and in spite of everything
goes on praising.
...
Look, I’m living.
On what?
Neither my childhood nor my future
is growing smaller . . .
Being
in excess
wells up
in my heart.”
catherineofalx's review against another edition
5.0
~Rating~ this sort of thing is absurd. I can’t even talk about the poems, what is there to say? But even without reading German, I can tell, this is a master class in translation.
kitmalloy's review against another edition
4.0
mwah. rilke knows what I want. definitely in my top five poets
katevrst's review against another edition
5.0
2020: 5 stars
2019: The first elegy is beautiful, but the ones that come after did not touch me as much. I also liked how evert elegy is linked to or inspired a sculpture of Rodin.
''For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, that we are still able to bear,
and we revere it so, because it calmly disdains to destroy us.''
2019: The first elegy is beautiful, but the ones that come after did not touch me as much. I also liked how evert elegy is linked to or inspired a sculpture of Rodin.
''For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, that we are still able to bear,
and we revere it so, because it calmly disdains to destroy us.''