Books Download Free

Identify Books Conducive To The Book of Images

Original Title:	Das Buch der Bilder
ISBN:	086547477X (ISBN13: 9780865474772)
Edition Language:	English

The Book of Images Paperback | Pages: 284 pages

Description Toward Books The Book of Images

I would like to step out of my heart’s door
and be under the great sky.
— Rilke, “Lament”

A myriad of shades, a plethora of images, the juxtaposition of sentiments which soothe and unsettle. A miscellany of visuals and existential hues. A mélange of nuances and distinctive sounds. A sense of clarity with the scent of perplexity. The mystical and the ordinary fluctuate in harmony. Chaotic perfection takes this collection by storm. A vision. A metaphor. A book. A thousand mirrors. The book of images. Das Buch der Bilder.

The last of his line
I have no paternal house,
nor have I lost one;
my mother birthed me out
into the world.
Here I stand now in the world and go
even deeper into the world
and have my happiness and have my woe
and have each one alone.
...

This poetry collection was first published in 1902, when Rilke was twenty-six years old. The second edition, which appeared in 1906, is the one I read, translated by Edward Snow and published in 2014. A work which apparently knew how to circumvent the challenges of poetry and translation, for Rilke’s verses acquire a natural fluency by virtue of Snow’s mastery.

Requiem
…
Life is only a part… of what?
Life is only a note… in what?
Life has meaning only joined with many
receding circles of increasing space, –
life is only the dream of a dream,
but waking is elsewhere.

The variety of themes and the original approach chosen by Rilke have distinguished his writing until evanescent categories were completely gone, elevating poetry to sometimes unfathomable levels. Sacred symbols and mundane illustrations coalesce in the land of polarity. If the reader finds a way to connect with the poetic expressions Rilke used to deconstruct the world, then a memorable journey will soon begin. A journey in which the light of day emphasizes the color of a rose, and the silence of a room shape the nights that never end. The days that bring solace. The nights that beg for poetry. The days of pressure. The nights that dislike the sound of echo; the nights that long for it afterwards amidst confusion. The nights of indifference and quick replacements too despicable to confess. The nights when childhood is a distant memory, when guardian angels seem oblivious, when life is heavier than the weight of all things.*





March 28, 17
* From the poem “The Neighbor”
** Also on my blog.

Details Containing Books The Book of Images

Title	:	The Book of Images
Author	:	Rainer Maria Rilke
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 284 pages
Published	:	June 1st 1994 by North Point Press (first published January 1st 1919)
Categories	:	Poetry. European Literature. German Literature

Rating Containing Books The Book of Images

Ratings: 4.4 From 1214 Users | 53 Reviews

Criticism Containing Books The Book of Images

He has a most definite style with he uses for his advantage and of course to an almost rhythmically perfect and visually spectacular effect. The poetry here stands out as shining example of the poets ability to weave the German word effortlessly. They roll off the tongue as smooth as the red Sun setting behind a dusky horizon on some Autumn evening.Pleasing but hitting hard. Or is it hard hitting?

from Todd Bastin:Rilke was a Bohemian-German poet (from what is now the Czech Republic) whose career flourished from the 1890s well into the 1920s, and whose quality of work kept steadily improving in the course of his career. North Point Press has released nearly all Rilke's work in excellent translation by poet, teacher and scholar Edward Snow. This particular volume, from the middle of Rilke's career, is worth reviewing because it gets strangely ignored in surveys of his life. It covers

Moves the spirt in a delight of mystery.

You experience much by observing.

I find the idea of reviewing Rilke intimidating. I think he was one of the greatest modern poets and a substantial amount of what he wrote is beyond my ability to take in. As well as the astonishing skill and the depth of his honesty and thought there is the problem of language. Most of what I get, I get from translation, but my German is good enough to see that the translations are far from perfect. I don't fault the translator for the imperfection since I don't believe it's anymore possible to



I really wanted to read this book, but I guess it was not the right time for me. I couldn't concentrate on the poetry itself and be able to appreciate the language. Maybe I'll come back to it later?