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Reading Rilke’s Orphic Identity

by Erika M. Nelson (Author)
©2005 Monographs 276 Pages

Summary

This study of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) examines the poet’s understanding of the malleable nature of identity, while addressing the question of Rilke’s place in literary history. In line with contemporary literary theory which views the «self» as a societal «construction» and strategic narrative device, this study explores Rilke’s preoccupations with identity in his work, as he investigates the disintegration of the subjective self in the modern world. Rilke’s re-readings of the mythological figures of Orpheus and Narcissus in modern psychological terms, as well as in terms of traditional poetics, are keys not only to his poetics and his changing understanding of «self», but also to his evolving critique of society. This study tracks how Rilke’s Orphic work disengages traditional patterns of perceptions, not only to challenge fidelity to history, but also to recover the power of traditional elements from that history to help articulate subjectivity in new terms.

Details

Pages
276
Publication Year
2005
ISBN (Softcover)
9783039102877
Language
English
Keywords
Rilke, Rainer Maria Identität (Motiv) Orphic Identity Mythological Figure of Orpheus Literary History Nature of Identity Poetic Invention Orpheus Fin-de-Siècle Literature
Published
Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, 2005. 276 pp.

Biographical notes

Erika M. Nelson (Author)

The Author: Erika M. Nelson is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, where she teaches German language, literature, and culture courses. Her current research explores German spa culture, film, and the literary influences of Liquid Sound.

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Title: Reading Rilke’s Orphic Identity