Rilke "Sonnets to Orpheus" Part I Son. 21 - 26

Join me for an in-depth live reading series of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus. We are focusing on savoring the poetry rather than rushing to completion.

We continue our conversation with Sonnet 21 to 26 - end of Part I of the Sonnets to Orpheus!

I post a zoom link day of the meeting.

Keep in mind this image of Orpheus by Cima da Conegliano: Orpheus drawing by Cima da Coneligano (c. 1459-1518)

An important precursor to the Sonnets is Rilke's poem, Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes. Note how Eurydice forgets Orpheus even before she nears the exit to the world. Here, Rilke affirms the modernist notion that the experience of death has displaced romantic love from the center of poetry. The Sonnets serve as an affirmation of life against the background of inevitable death, acting as both praise and lament.

Written in 1922 during a three-week "savage creative storm," this cycle of 55 sonnets was composed alongside the Duino Elegies. Together, they represent Rilke's masterpieces and the peak of his poetic achievement.

We will work exclusively with Mark S. Burrows' translation of the Sonnets. Please, read his Introduction to the Sonnets before our first meeting.

[Amazon.com: Sonnets to Orpheus: A New Translation (Bilingual Edition): 9781958972397: Rilke, Rainer Maria, Burrows, Mark S.: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Sonnets-Orpheus-New-Translation-Bilingual/dp/1958972398/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3759FOOGT6Y4Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Kz6rlGc6TsQr419OaxZ9cwPiRkcfwbf8Kh9P-zDH84oBwRwYYBa-aTDcO-dt_Qm8d4WNhf5JjP8dT8wpt8sDiSRE2Ak0mYeEvbMoyM3vPqiZGeRxp2qk5De5Rba9HVjWmgwuWbwQZZ10H5ztOcBNnrcegsZ9Bt2JyQ56Jlvwj44KKfcGDNlM9QNw0g2_cuOZ.g0G2l21L0aIVJCyqhUqYkHDFJ6pBw19fU_QamILjjGM&dib_tag=se&keywords=Mark+Burrows+rilke&qid=1778252615&sprefix=mark+burrows+rilke%2Caps%2C309&sr=8-3)