Edited by Erika A. Metzger and Michael M. Metzger
Contributors: Alan F. Keele, Erika and Michael Metzger, and George C. Schoolfield

"The ten essays by eminent Rilke scholars succeed in their intent to move toward a new image of Rilke."—German Quarterly

"This study is a wonderful, animated text, a lovely tribute to the poet's great humanity, and it should be included in any study of Rilke."—Colloquia Germanica

"The cosmopolitan solitary is shown against the background of a developing modernistic culture, to which (Rilke) substantially contributed. The authors show profound insight into the many problems raised ... by work which combines the ineffable with the physical."—Modern Language Studies

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) is the best-known German poet of his generation and is widely appreciated today by readers in Europe, the United States, and world-wide. Because of the inventiveness and musicality of his poetic language and the visionary intuition of his thinking, Rilke's influence extends well beyond poetry to include religion, philosophy, the social sciences, and the arts. His works have been widely translated into English, and new renderings of such poem cycles as "Duino Elegies" and "The Sonnets to Orpheus" appear frequently. Critics regard Rilke's Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge as a seminal modern novel. The Companion to Rilke provides essential, up-to-date essays by top Rilke scholars on a wide range of the major aspects of Rilke's life and works. The volume follows the chronology of Rilke's career, emphasizing those works that have not been met with the greatest critical interest.

Among the topics covered are: Rilke's life and thought; the writings before 1902; Das Stunden-Buch and Das Buch der Bilder; the Neue Gedichte, The Cornet and other brief narratives; Malte Laurids Brigge; The Duino Elegies; The Sonnets to Orpheus; Rilke as a poet in French; Rilke and the visual arts.

Paperback
323 Pages
BOYE6, 2004
6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
ISBN 9781571133021
Literary Criticism