Rainer Maria Rilke
Austrian poet known for Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus
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René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet. Acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as a significant writer in the German language. His work is viewed by critics and scholars as possessing undertones of mysticism, exploring themes of subjective experience and disbelief. His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry, several volumes of correspondence and a few early novellas.
Early life (1875–1896)
Born in Prague, then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia under Austria-Hungary, Rilke was the son of a railway official and a mother from a well-to-do Prague family. His childhood was marked by his mother’s grief over an infant daughter who died soon after birth; she treated her son as a substitute girl, dressing him in fine clothes and regarding him as a plaything. His parents separated when he was nine. After attending a military academy in Sankt Pölten from 1886 to 1891, he left due to illness, then briefly attended a trade school in Linz.
Munich and Saint Petersburg
Expelled in 1892, he returned to Prague, where he was tutored for university entrance, passing in 1895. He studied literature, art history, and philosophy in Prague until moving to Munich in 1896. In 1897, he met Lou Andreas-Salomé, a married intellectual who urged him to change his first name from René to the more masculine Rainer. Their relationship, which included two extensive trips to Russia, lasted until 1900; she remained his lifelong confidante and later shared her psychoanalytic training with him.
In Russia, he met Leo Tolstoy and the family of Boris Pasternak. In 1900, he stayed at the Worpswede artists’ colony, where he met sculptor Clara Westhoff, whom he married in 1901; their daughter was born that year. Moving to Paris in 1902 to write about Auguste Rodin, Rilke initially struggled, an experience reflected in his novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge.
He served as Rodin’s secretary, and Rodin’s emphasis on objective observation transformed Rilke’s poetic style into the celebrated “thing-poems” of his New Poems collection. He also encountered the work of Paul Cézanne during this period. Rilke travelled extensively across Europe, eventually settling in Switzerland, which inspired much of his later poetry. Besides German, he wrote in French.
Lore & Background
Rilke travelled extensively throughout Europe, finally settling in Switzerland, which provided the inspiration for many of his poems. While Rilke is best known for his contributions to German literature, he also wrote in French.
Among English-language readers, his best-known works include two poetry collections: Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, a semi-autobiographical novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. A collection of ten letters was published posthumously as Letters to a Young Poet. In the later 20th century, his work found new audiences in citations by self-help authors and frequent quotations in television shows, books and motion pictures.
Reader's Guide
He was born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke in Prague, capital of Kingdom of Bohemia (then ruled by Austria-Hungary, now capital of the Czech Republic). His father, Josef Rilke (1838–1906), found employment as a railway official after an unsuccessful military career. His mother, (1851–1931), was from a well-to-do family in Prague, the Entz-Kinzelbergers, who lived at Herrengasse (Panská) 8, where René spent many of his early years. His childhood was not always a happy one, and the relationship between Phia and her only son was colored by her mourning for an earlier infant daughter who died within one week.
During Rilke's early years, Phia acted as if she sought to recover the lost daughter by treating Rilke as if he were a girl. According to Rilke, he had to wear 'fine clothes' and 'was a plaything [for his mother], like a big doll'. His parents separated in 1884.
His parents enrolled the poetically and artistically talented youth in a military academy in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria. He attended classes from 1886 until 1891, but left due to illness. He then moved to Linz, and entered a trade school.
During this time he lived with Hans Drouot (publisher and owner of the printing and publishing company Jos. Feichtingers Erben) at Graben 19 on the 3rd floor. Expelled in May 1892, the 16-year-old returned to Prague, where, for three years, he was tutored for the university entrance exam, which he passed in 1895. He took classes in literature, art history, and philosophy in Prague, until 1896 when he left school and moved to Munich.
Did You Know?
- Rilke changed his first name from 'René' to 'Rainer' at the urging of Lou Andreas-Salomé, who thought that name to be more masculine, forceful and Germanic.
- Rilke met the novelist Leo Tolstoy during a trip to Moscow in 1899.
- Rilke's only novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, was started in 1904 and completed in January 1910.
- Rilke began writing the Duino Elegies in 1912 at Duino Castle near Trieste, Italy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What themes define Rilke's poetry?
His verse is often described as deeply mystical and focused on the interior life, exploring how individuals experience the world subjectively. Critics note a strong undercurrent of spiritual questioning and a sense of disbelief woven throughout his work.
What is 'Letters to a Young Poet' about?
It is a collection of letters Rilke wrote in response to a young aspiring writer who sought his guidance on the creative life. The letters have become one of his most widely read works, offering reflections on solitude, patience, and the demands of artistic dedication.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Rainer Maria Rilke (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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