Acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as a significant writer in the German language. Rilke traveled extensively throughout Europe, finally settling in Switzerland, which provided the inspiration for many of his poems. While Rilke is best known for his contributions to German literature, he also wrote in French. In the later 20th century, his work found new audiences in citations by self-help authors [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and frequent quotations in television shows, books and motion pictures.
His childhood and youth in Prague were not always happy. His father, Josef Rilke — , found employment as a railway official after an unsuccessful military career. The relationship between Phia and her only son was coloured by her mourning for an earlier infant daughter who died within one week.
During Rilke's early years, Phia acted as if she sought to recover the lost daughter by treating Rilke as if he were a girl. According to Rilke, he had to wear "fine clothes" and "was a plaything [for his mother], like a big doll".
He attended classes from until , but left due to illness. He then moved to Linz , and entered a trade school. During this time he lived with Hans Drouot publisher and owner of the printing and publishing company Jos. Feichtingers Erben at Graben 19 on the 3rd floor. Expelled in May , the year-old returned to Prague, where, for three years, he was tutored for the university entrance exam, which he passed in He took classes in literature, art history, and philosophy in Prague , [ 13 ] until when he left school and moved to Munich.
Having trained from to as a psychoanalyst with Sigmund Freud , she shared her knowledge of psychoanalysis with Rilke. In , Rilke undertook a journey of several weeks to Italy. Between May and August , a second journey to Russia, accompanied only by Lou, again took him to Moscow and Saint Petersburg , where he met the family of Boris Pasternak and Spiridon Drozhzhin , a peasant poet.
