126-365/486 Rilke's Poetry and Prose 1900-1914

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Objectives:

Students who complete this subject will:

• have a familiarity with several of Rilke's major writings, including those which are considered most accessible and innovative today;

• have a critical understanding of Rilke's theory of literature and his application of it;

• have an aesthetic appreciation of Rilke's artistry and an awareness of the main challenges his work presents to a modern reader.

Content:

The course presents an introduction to the works of Rainer Maria Rilke which were written during his most innovative and experimental period. It will be conducted in German and benefit from the participation of Professor Gerhard Neumann, a Visiting Scholar from the University of Munich. The course will look firstly at the theory of poetry which Rilke develops in his early prose writing and begins to put into practice from the turn of the century onwards. Detailed analyses of selected poems from the 'Neue Gedichte' will make up the second part of the course. Rilke's verse drama 'Die weiße Fürstin' will then be discussed in the context of European drama at the turn of the century. A discussion of Rilke's experimental novel 'Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge' will follow and the course will conclude with a reading of the cycle of poems entitled 'Gedichte an die Nacht'.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

A course reader will be supplied containing the German texts of all extracts from Rilke's works to be discussed; a paperback edition of his novel 'Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge' (insel taschenbuch) should be purchased.