Rainer Maria Rilke

Rainer Maria Rilke (4 December, 1875 – 29 December, 1926) is generally considered the German language's greatest 20th century poet. 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.

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4 December - 1875 - 29 December - 1926 - Modernist

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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.

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Sonnets to Orpheus - Duino Elegies

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The parents pressured the poetically and artistically gifted youth into attending a military academy from 1886, but he left it due to illness in 1891. From 1892 to 1895 he had private lessons to prepare him for the university entry exam, which he passed in 1895. In 1895 and 1896 he studied literature, history of art and philosophy in Prague and Munich. Once he had left Prague Rilke changed his first name from "René" to Rainer, perhaps indicating his discontent with his family.

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1886 - 1891 - 1892 - 1895 - 1896 - Prague - Munich

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