Talk:Rainer Maria Rilke

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Contents 1 Where's Heidegger? 2 This article lacks of an introductory text like the one it had in its first versions, i.e. : 3 Czech, Austrian...? 4 Selection of works section 5 "generally considered the German language's greatest 20th century poet." 6 Pronunciation of name

[edit] Where's Heidegger?

Added reference under 'Influences' but this is a somewhat superficial characterisation as the link to Heidegger is more essential, i.e. they are "ideologically concurrent". Perhaps this should be a new section or merged into the main article, but the point on Heidegger in 'Influences' is somewhat conspicuous. Suggestions?Tsop 05:57, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This article lacks of an introductory text like the one it had in its first versions, i.e. :

"Rilke is generally considered the German language's greatest poet of the 20th century. Though he never found a consistent verse form, his haunting images tend to focus on the problems of Christianity in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety. He is generally placed in the camp of Modernist poets, though his religious dilemmas may set him apart from some of his peers.

He wrote in both verse and in a highly lyrical prose. His two most famous verse pieces are the Sonnets to Orpheus and the Duino Elegies; his two most famous prose pieces are the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge."

It's good to have a lead, but there are some problems with this one. I seriously don't think Rilke "focus on the problems of Christianity", neither was he a Modernist poet. In fact, his poetry is deliberately traditional - it may modern in its preoccupations, but not certainly of the Modernists in terms of technique. Mandel 03:09, Jun 13, 2005 (UTC)

Rilke did focus on the problems of Christianity, and recurrently so - most impressively perhaps in the "Brief eines jungen Arbeiters". Dexter 04:57, July 9, 2005 (GMT)

It's not clear enough what problems of Christianity he focus on. Rilke can be said somewhat like a "pagan" poet, so it's misleading to say that he focus on Christianity (eg. the "angels" in Duino Elegies are not Christian angels; he repeated invoked Buddhism, classical Greek figures before the era of Christ etc.) Did he attack the institution of Christianity? Was it because he found Christianity wanting in this age of anxiety? Or was it really because he was interested in the question of religion at large?

Modernism is also a very precise term. Rike is certainly not of the same school with Eliot and Pound, though he is definitely modern. Modern, not modernist. Mandel 09:48, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Added a new influence, the band Rainer Maria. Pretty obvious one. I slipped it in under the other musical inspirations. I can't link a source to the merchandise I'm talking about, as the record label website is down, but I own one of the t-shirts with Rilke's face on it, so I know they exist. Frailgesture 07:08, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

Someone who knows more than I do about poetry should figure out what to say about modernism. I do know enough to remove the implication that being Christian disqualifies you from being a modernist. Also, the idea that a "consistent verse form" is a requirement for being a successful poet seemed like an assertion of opinion. Nareek 23:11, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Czech, Austrian...?

Rilke was born and raised in what's now the Czech Republic, but it obviously wasn't the Czech Republic then.

However, looking at his bio here, it doesn't appear that he ever lived in a country called "Austria" either--by the time there was such an entity, he was living in Germany and then in Switzerland. Given that Austrian is not really an ethnicity, it seems odd to call him an Austrian if he never lived in Austria.

If we're identifying him by nationality, Austro-Hungarian is probably right--though I'm not sure that's a category. By ethnicity, "German" is probably correct. Nareek 20:19, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't think he was ethnically German. I'm not sure on the ethnicities of his parents, but I would guess they were largely Czech / Austrian. Strictly speaking, yes, Austrian is an ethnicity, but it does not include all regions of the Austrian Empire -- it only includes what is considered to be historical Austria. And saying that his nationality was Austro-Hungarian is a bit of a problem because, by the time of his death, that nation didn't even exist anymore. WWI-era Czechs would have claimed that he was Czech, whether or not he was ethnically Czech, because he was from Bohemia. I don't know offhand what his citizenship status was post WWI. And as far as I know, Rilke never wrote or said anything significant on his own national identity. Honestly, I would just leave it out -- it's really academic. - Che Nuevara 00:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Selection of works section

I find the Works section is unhelpful for the following reasons:

• lack of titles in English
• most volumes of Rilke's poetry have been translated by multiple translators, so why is listing one or two translators helpful unless they are all listed?

I think translators/translations would fit in better if placed within the article for each specific work. Does anyone have any objections or any other ideas for making this section clearer and more helpful? -- hibou 13:08, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "generally considered the German language's greatest 20th century poet."

He's not, maybe one of the greatest but not the greatest.

Yup. In any case, this is a huge instance of weasel wording, especially since it's in the first frickin' sentence. Clearly not everyone agrees Rilke is Germany's greatest 20th century poet, so it's very important to know just who. And likely that "who" is whoever wrote that. If you've got any sort of evidence to back up the claim (e.g. "75% of German lit professors say he's..."), you can put that in instead. But as it is now, it's gotta go. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.58.237.227 (talk) 01:39, 28 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Pronunciation of name

It would be great if someone could add the pronunciation of his name, for the ignorants of the world (like me!). Thanks. --TotoBaggins 15:18, 21 February 2007 (UTC)