Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T08:03:37.635Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - The Sonnets to Orpheus

from PART II - WORKS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2010

Karen Leeder
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Robert Vilain
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway, University of London
Get access

Summary

When Rilke moved to the Château de Muzot in the Canton of Wallis, Switzerland, in 1921, he was hoping he had found the place where he might complete his Duino Elegies. And indeed, having worked on this cycle, with several long interruptions, for a whole decade, Rilke did finally manage to bring this project to a conclusion in February 1922. This is, however, only one half of the success story that took place in Muzot. The other half concerns yet another major work that came into being there: The Sonnets to Orpheus, Rilke's last poetic cycle in German. Even before Rilke completed the Duino Elegies he had composed almost the entire first part of the sonnets, twenty-six poems altogether, in only four days (from 2 to 5 February 1922), and immediately after the Elegies had been finished, the second part consisting of another twenty-nine poems, was written in little more than a week (15-23 February). While the sonnets of the second part were rearranged after their composition, the first part predominantly reflects the chronological order in which the sonnets were written. The whole cycle was first published in 1923 by Insel in Leipzig. In part because of the closely connected genesis of The Sonnets to Orpheus and the Duino Elegies, Rilke always viewed the former in relation to the latter.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×