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Introduction Rainer M. Rilke was born in Prague in 1875 and made his debut as a poet at the age of 19. In 1901 he married the young sculptress, Klara Westhoff and they had one daughter, Ruth. The marriage lasted one year. Rainer Rilke settled in Paris and developed a new style of lyrical poetry. There were years though when he didn’t write. He spent time in Italy, Sweden and Denmark. He wrote the beginnings of most of his ten elegies, entitled ‘Duino Elegies’, starting in January 1912, when he visited the Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis-Hohenlohe at the castle Duino just outside Trieste. ‘The Third Elegy’ was finished in 1913 after he returned to Paris. The whole cycle of Duino Elegies was completed in February 1922 when Rilke visited the Château de Muzot in the Rhône Valley. When WWI broke out Rilke was forced to return to Germany. After 1919 Rilke lived in Switzerland and died there in 1926. Interpreting poetry can become a matter of personal experience and a translation rarely retains a poem's original instinctive appeal. Rare but sweet are the instances where at least part of the poem carries all its depth into the new language. We’ve attempted to translate such cultural imprints and to express emotional contents and ambiguities within Rainer Rilke’s specific style. G.A. & L. F.
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