Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus

By: Rainer Maria Rilke, Stephen Mitchell - translator

Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell

The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke addresses the issues of God, death, and "destructive time." Rilke tries to transform these problems into an inner world, what he calls "a whole inner world as if an angel, comprehending all space, were blind and looking into himself." Eminent author and translator Stephen Mitchell brings these ideas vividly to life in this new translation of Rilke's most transcendent works.Recording (P)1997 by Audio Literature; Copyright ©1995 by Stephen Mitchell

Critic reviews

"Rilke has at last found, in Mitchell's version, the ideal English poetics and the perfect translator." (William Arrowsmith, co-author of The Craft and Context of Translation)

Slow down and let it seep in.

If you are up for the challenge, these are beautiful to listen to … over and over again. There is a rhythmic quality to the reading that fits the meter of the meaning. Allowing yourself to get in sync with the narrator’s voice, invites an immersion into the subtle layers tucked into the text.

florid! but at times beautiful

my first real experience with Rilke. The language is very overwrought--sometimes appropriately so, when dealing with larger themes of Love and Death; sometimes less appropriately so, like when exalting someone to Dance The Orange. The earlier eulogies though, made my breath catch several times.

Beautiful poetry, nicely read

The lyrical quality of this verse comes through in this translation. I enjoyed the reader's voice. Clearly some listeners do not, but I find the soft voice suits the nature of this poetry quite well. It's not the Iliad or the Aeneid, so the bold declamation appropriate for epic poetry is neither necessary nor desirable.

Missing material

Mitchell's translations are haunting and evocative, and while the recording quality leaves something to be desired, the sound is not as poor here as it is on some other Mitchell recordings.

My main complaint is that this audiobook omits the author's Foreword (where much of Mitchell's contributions are) and one of the Sonnets to Orpheus (XVI of the First Part). While some readers might care to hear only the poems themselves without any of the biographical context or notes on translation method on the Foreword, it seems that anyone who ordered this book would want to hear all of the poems in their entirety. Here's hoping it is rerecorded and rereleased in greater fullness.

Remarkable poetry read by its best translator

This is a brilliant collection of poetry read by Stephen Mitchell, by far the preeminent translator of Rilke. It is a nice combination, with clear audio and a very credible reading.