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A review by mercurialbooks
Duineser Elegien, Elegies from the Castle of Duino by Vita Sackville-West, Edward Sackville West Hon, Rainer Maria Rilke
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I honestly chose to read this book for two reasons. Firstly, that Vita Sackville-West is a translator, and secondly I wanted to add more poetry into my reading life.
Having previously read some of Vita's writing, I had hoped a translation by her would involve some of her flair and humour.
Unfortunately, they decided to translate this very closely to the original material. But they explain their reasoning so well in the translator's note that I cannot disagree it was the best choice at the time.
Rainer Maria Rilke is a German poet who has compiled the Duino Elegy from 10 poems that were written over eleven years. The First World War and bouts of depression very valid delays to it's final composition,
His poetry is very "complex and arcane" states Vita (and her cousin Edward) and I cannot help but agree. They suggest the poetry will not fully reveal itself on a first reading as it deals mostly in abstract ideas.
I feel a single reading is not enough for me to have grasped all the imagery and even much of the meaning. It is dense and requires some knowledge of his life and contemporary experiences to fully comprehend. I found a more modern and paraphrased translation online but even then some of the concepts were too thick for me to combat easily. This I blame entirely on my own intelligence, not the poet.
My single change to this book would be to place Vita and Edwards note at the beginning, their introduction is (in my opinion) far more accessible and less excessively academic than the current one. I felt better having read their note about how challenging I found this read. Their wit and approachable attitude is what makes Vita a must-read author for me. It is a shame to relegate that to the back of the book.
Having previously read some of Vita's writing, I had hoped a translation by her would involve some of her flair and humour.
Unfortunately, they decided to translate this very closely to the original material. But they explain their reasoning so well in the translator's note that I cannot disagree it was the best choice at the time.
Rainer Maria Rilke is a German poet who has compiled the Duino Elegy from 10 poems that were written over eleven years. The First World War and bouts of depression very valid delays to it's final composition,
His poetry is very "complex and arcane" states Vita (and her cousin Edward) and I cannot help but agree. They suggest the poetry will not fully reveal itself on a first reading as it deals mostly in abstract ideas.
I feel a single reading is not enough for me to have grasped all the imagery and even much of the meaning. It is dense and requires some knowledge of his life and contemporary experiences to fully comprehend. I found a more modern and paraphrased translation online but even then some of the concepts were too thick for me to combat easily. This I blame entirely on my own intelligence, not the poet.
My single change to this book would be to place Vita and Edwards note at the beginning, their introduction is (in my opinion) far more accessible and less excessively academic than the current one. I felt better having read their note about how challenging I found this read. Their wit and approachable attitude is what makes Vita a must-read author for me. It is a shame to relegate that to the back of the book.