Sonnets to Orpheus

Rilke's "Sonnets to Orpheus" appear simple, even casual, at first reading, but have a content which resonates far beyond the familiar legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. They take in the Singing God and his beloved Eurydice; "legend" in general, along with "time", "flight" and "change"; architecture, music and dance; animals, plants, flowers and fruits. The ten letters to the officer-cadet Franz Xavier Kappus, were written between 1903 and 1908.