Duino Elegies

By Rainer Maria Rilke, Edward Snow (translator),

Book cover of Duino Elegies

Book description

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angelic
orders? and even if one of them pressed me
suddenly to his heart: I'd be consumed
in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror, which we can just barely endure,
and we stand in…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Duino Elegies as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There are no other poems like Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies. Lyrical and intense, they express the poet’s struggle with existence, and his deep belief in the transformative power of suffering. Rilke asks the question that all spiritual seekers ask: “Look, I live. And for what?” He offers the answer that we live to strengthen the soul. In the Duino Elegies, Rilke encourages the reader to use his or her suffering to become closer to God. Reading his work helps the seeker to understand that the spiritual journey is on a larger scale than that of one’s fleeting…

Want books like Duino Elegies?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 49 books like Duino Elegies.

Browse books like Duino Elegies

Book cover of Siddhartha
Book cover of The Razor's Edge
Book cover of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in prophecy, angels, and the Bible?

Prophecy 44 books
Angels 59 books
The Bible 367 books