LITERATIRi: 



2S7 



he finished only six. He later plotted against 

 the government, was sentenced to prison for 

 life, and wrote much while in prison, including 

 a history of Sweden written in Latin. Contem- 

 poraneous with Messinius was Stjernhjelm, 

 who has borne the title of "Father of Swedish 

 Poetry." He traveled over Europe, was made 

 a noble by Gustavus Adolphus, and later at- 

 t;ichl to the court in Stockholm as a sort of 

 poet-laureate. His writings had much influence 

 on the language itself, molding it into smooth- 

 ness. He left works on philology and wrote 

 out the letter "A" in the first Swedish diction- 

 ary. His work shows German influence, and 

 his greatest poem, "Hercules," is an allegory 

 writ ti'ii in musical verse with Oriental phrasing 

 and imagery. He was followed by poets who 

 wrote after French models, but the majority 

 took Stjernhjelm, himself, as guide, and lost all 

 independence. 



Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) wrote pol- 

 ished prose and his "Speeches" hold an impor- 

 tant place in the literature of the Seventeenth 

 Century. In the next age was Rubeck (1630- 

 1702), a genius in learning, who became famous 

 through all Europe for his discoveries in physi- 

 ology before he was twenty-five. He also did 

 much toward the practical improvement of the 

 University of Upsala, where ne spent most of 

 his life. The object of his great work, " Atland," 

 written in Swedish and Latin, was to prove that 

 the fabled Atlantis had been found in the Swed- 

 ish nation. It has been said of these volumes 

 that they make "a monstrous hoard or cairn 

 of rough-hewn antiquarian learning, now often 

 praised, sometimes quoted from, and never read." 



The Eighteenth Century saw Swedish litera- 

 ture take solid shape. The influence of France 

 and England crowded out German and Italian 

 and in Dalin, a leader of his time, the 

 effect is plain. His "Swedish Argus" was 

 modeled on Addison's "Spectator," and his 



''Thoughts About Critics" on the writings of 

 Pope; his epic, "Swedish Freedom," and his 

 comedy, "The Envious Man," show admiration 

 of the French. His songs and shorter poems 

 are specimens of skilled workmanship. The 

 only poet who compared with Dalin at this time 



I was Chariot ta Noraenflycht, whose lyrics, col- 



1 lected in 1743 under the title, "The Sorrowing 

 Turtledove," became very popular. She set- 

 tled in Stockholm, presided over a literary salon, 

 and was called "The Swedish Sappho. * 



Among other poets are Bellman, a writer of 

 odes, Franzen, who left some noted lyrics, and 

 Wallin, archbishop of Upsala, publisher of the 



i national hymn-book. 



In the year 1786, the Swedish Academy was 

 formed after the manner of the French Academy. 

 but with eighteen members, instead of forty. 

 In 1811, the younger men of Stockholm founded 



I the Gothic Society, intended for improvement 

 in literary work by means of the study of Scandi- 

 navian antiquity. Two great lights in this new 

 school were Tegner, the famous verse writer, 

 and Geijer, more noted for his prose. Stagnelius 

 ha*; been compared to Shelley and his mysterious 



I death in 1823 gave a romantic interest to his 

 name. Runeberg (1804-1877) divides honors 

 with Tegner, and King Oscar II. (born 1829) 

 was a genuine poet. Fredrika Bremer, also a 

 writer of verse, is better known through her 

 stories which have been translated into many 



j languages. 



As an historian of Swedish literature 

 is much quoted. Anders Fryxell (1795-1881) 



'wrote the great history of the country which 

 appeared in parts, taking nearly sixty years in 

 the construction, and Schlyter, born 

 was the legal historian. Rydberg. belongim: 

 a generation later, was author of historical tale*-. 

 The general revival of letters, coming at the end 

 of the great wars of the world, was slow in 

 Sweden. 



SWEDISH LITERATURE 



