Rainer Maria Rilke, born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist, known for his significant contributions to German literature. He was born on December 4, 1875, in Prague, Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and died on December 29, 1926, in Raron, Valais, Switzerland.

Rilke is acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, whose work is widely recognized for its mysticism and exploration of subjective experience and disbelief. His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry, and numerous volumes of correspondence.

Among his best-known works are the poetry collections Duino Elegies (Duineser Elegien) and Sonnets to Orpheus (Die Sonette an Orpheus), as well as the semi-autobiographical novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge) and the posthumously published Letters to a Young Poet (Briefe an einen jungen Dichter).

Rilke traveled extensively throughout Europe, finally settling in Switzerland, which provided inspiration for many of his poems. Although primarily known for his contributions to German literature, Rilke also wrote in French. In the later 20th century, his work found new audiences through frequent citations by self-help authors and appearances in television, books, and films.