Swedish literature
Under Swedish literature is understood in the Swedish language written literature, so in addition to the literature from Sweden - including immigrants written in Swedish - the literature of the Åland Islands and from Finland Sweden written literature. Swedish literature is part of Scandinavian literature .
Medieval and Kalmar Union (1100–1527)
If one disregards the rune stones , which often only have short inscriptions, but suggest a wealth of forms, the landscape laws from the 13th century are among the oldest literature in Sweden. With the spread of Christianity at the end of the 13th century, a religious literature also emerged that included hymns and translations of parts of the Bible . Court literature reached the south of Sweden in the 14th century. Three novels of chivalry ( Eufemiavisor ) have been translated into Swedish and the rhyming, intended for presentation Erikskrönika ( Erik Chronicle was created) with over 4500 verses one - certainly politically motivated - chronicle of the time of the power struggle from 1250 to 1319. The mid-15th century resulting Rhymed Karlschronik evidently served dynastic purposes. The greatest writer of the Middle Ages, however, is St. Birgitta , who in her Himmelska uppenbarelser (Heavenly Revelations, Latin 1492) describes her visions and attacks political and ecclesiastical opponents. Also worth mentioning are the general Norse ballads, which lived on as folk epics for a long time, but were not recorded until the 19th century and influenced folk tradition until the 20th century.
Reformation and Great Power (1527–1721)
The foundation stone for a uniform Swedish language had been laid by the beginning of the Reformation . In 1541 the Gustav Wasa Bible , which was mainly re-translated by Olaus Petri , was published, which was published until 1917 with minor changes. Religious literature in the wake of the Reformation dominated the entire period. The establishment of the new teaching had priority over aesthetic issues. Secular and neo-humanist texts continued to be written in Latin for a long time. Johannes Magnus (1488–1544), Archbishop of Uppsala, wrote the Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sveonumque regibus (published 1554) in exile , of which a Swedish translation was published in 1620. This work postulates a relationship between the first sexes after the Flood and the expansion of the Goths along the Baltic coast. This “Gothicist” (or “Gothicist”) image would later characterize the era of great power as a heroic Swedish self-image.
It was not until the 17th century that Renaissance literature found its way into Sweden. Its main representative was Lars Wivallius , one of the greatest impostors of the century. His poems take up the popular Knittel verse and are characterized by a love of freedom and nature. Georg Stiernhielm, on the other hand, tried to found a Swedish poetry by imitating antiquity . His Hexameter - epic Hercules (1658) influenced a number of successors. Skogekär Bergbo wrote sonnets in Wenerid (published 1680, written before 1650) in Petrarch's successor. Baroque poetry reached its peak from the 1670s . Numerous hymns as well as occasional poems for weddings and funerals express a burlesque joie de vivre, but also the fear of death.
Classicism, Enlightenment and Pre-Romanticism (1721–1809)
In the years that followed, literature remained closely linked to political development, so that historical terms were also used for the literary epochs. So the time associated with the loss of the great power position from the beginning of the epoch until 1772 was also called the "freedom time"; it was characterized by a constitutional reform of 1719/23, the increasing importance of the Reichstag as well as school reforms and the relatively free development of the press, but ended in a constitutional and financial crisis. The following "Gustavian time" was due to the restoration of an (enlightened) absolutism by Gustav III. (1772–92).
In 1732 the first issue of Sweden's first moral weekly, Then Swänska Argus , was published. The publisher was Olof von Dalin , who primarily addressed the middle-class public with the weekly newspaper. Dalin, whose poetry entirely under the influence of of France coming Classicism stand, made a brilliant career as poet laureate. Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht , who was also his strongest competitor, stands out among Dalin's contemporaries . Her poetry is partly more personal and soulful, partly shaped by the struggle for the intellectual rights of women.
The bailiff Carl Michael Bellman has a place of his own. With his song collections Fredmans epistlar and Fredmans sånger (Fredmans Lieder) he presented a unique combination of text and music that survived for a long time.
The two most prominent representatives of the Enlightenment are Johan Henric Kellgren and his successor Anna Maria Lenngren . Both reached a large audience as employees of the newspaper Stockholms Posten , the organ of the enlightenment. Above all, Kellgren defended the Enlightenment against the pre-romantics influenced by Ossian , Rousseau and the young Goethe , such as Thomas Thorild and Bengt Lidner .
Romanticism and Realism (1809-1870)
In 1810 two literary magazines appeared, Polyfem in Stockholm and Phosphoros in Uppsala , which were directed against classicism in the vicinity of the Swedish Academy and helped romanticism to break through. Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom from the Uppsala group became one of the most important representatives of romanticism. Atterbom's friend and professor colleague Erik Gustaf Geijer, and after him Esaias Tegnér, were representatives of a national romanticism that looked for the Old Norse in history. In his poem Vikingen, Geijer introduced the figure of the Viking into literature, who became a model for Tegnérs Frithiofs saga and a number of later works. The greatest lyric poet of Romanticism is Erik Johan Stagnelius , who died at the age of thirty and whose importance was only gradually recognized after his death. The first novels also appeared during the Romantic period. Above all, Carl Jonas Love Almqvist and his novel Drottningens juvelsmycke (The Queen's Jewels) should be mentioned here.
Five years later, in 1839, Almqvist published the novel Det går an (Eng. The week with Sara ), which questions the institution of marriage and describes a couple living together without church blessing. This novel, which led to the abandonment of Almqvist's civil servant career, is an example of the literary turn towards realism , which literally illuminates social issues. The most successful novelists of this time were three women: Fredrika Bremer , Sophie von Knorring and Emilie Flygare-Carlén , of which the first was mainly due to her work such as As in the novel Hertha the emancipation of women a character set. Viktor Rydberg , whose literature is a commitment to the ideas of the French Revolution and liberalism , concluded the epoch . His novel Den siste Athenaren (The Last Athens) contains a strong criticism of dogmatic Christianity .
Carl Snoilsky and the Finnish Swede Johan Ludvig Runeberg , whose collection of poems Ensign Stahl, is still popular today, were among the most important poets of the mid and late 19th century . They turned away from romanticism and sought a new, realistic style.
Naturalism and the turn of the century (1870–1914)
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August Strindberg and Selma Lagerlöf are the two outstanding writers of this period. Strindberg achieved his breakthrough in 1879 with the novel Röda rummet ( The Red Room ). He then wrote a number of smaller works and then turned to the theater. With Fadren ( Der Vater ) 1887 and Fröken Julie ( Miss Julie ) 1888 he reached an international audience, as did his later, symbolist works Ett drömspel ( Ein Traumspiel ) 1902 and Spöksonaten ( The Ghost Sonata ) 1907. Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf joined them the novel Gösta Berlings saga ( Gösta Berling ) 1891 to the public. Nils Holgersson's underbara resa genom Sverige ( Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey through Sweden ) 1906–1907 was conceived as a local history textbook and is a game with geography. Verner von Heidenstam's historical reading book Svenskarna och deras Hövdingar ( Eng . The Swedes and their Chiefs ), which appeared two years later, was also intended for school . Together with Gustaf Fröding, Verner von Heidenstam was one of the most important poets of the 1990s; he also influenced the neo-romantic poetry of Erik Axel Karlfeldt .
The fin-de-siècle is represented by Hjalmar Söderberg , whose works are characterized by a pessimistic view of people, but a stylistic brilliance. His heroes are disaffected day thieves. Förvillelser (Eng. Confusion ) 1895 is his first novel, Doktor Glas (Eng. Doktor Glas ) is his first masterpiece and a veritable scandal and Den allvarsamma leken ( Eng . The serious game ) 1912 is one of the classic romance novels in Swedish literature.
The leading poet of the time was Vilhelm Ekelund , symbolist and modernist.
The time of the two world wars and in between (1914–1945)
The literature after 1914 was more dedicated to social and psychological issues than its predecessor. Workers' literature and a critical portrayal of the bourgeoisie were based on personal experience and were autobiographical in the 1920s and 1930s. Sigfrid Siwertz , Elin Wägner and Hjalmar Bergman describe contemporary Sweden in transition from an agricultural to an industrial society . Sigfrid Siwertz describes in his family novel Selambs ( Die Selambs ) forms of anti-social egoism, Elin Wägner describes the modern working woman in Norrtullsligan (German: The North Customs League ) and the fight for women's suffrage in Pennskaftet (The Penholder ), Hjalmar Bergman describes the close civil society of Swedish small town, for example in Makurells in Wadköping (German Makurell ). Authors from the working and small peasant class, mostly self-taught, describe the social misery of these classes in autobiographical novels. Among them are Vilhelm Moberg , who describes the struggle of the smallholder against the new age, but above all for his emigration cycle , Utvandrarna (German: The Emigrants ), Invandrarna (German: In the New World ), Nybyggarna (German: The Settlers ) and Sista brevet till Sverige (Eng. The last letter to Sweden ) became famous, Ivar Lo-Johansson and Jan Fridegård , who describe the gloomy life of the small tenants, as in Godnatt, jord ( Eng . Good night, earth ) by Lo-Johansson , and Moa Martinson , who describes the tough everyday life of factory workers. Martin Koch saw himself explicitly as a Proletärförfattare (working-class writer).
Modern poetry with influences from the Expressionism , Futurism and Surrealism wrote Pär Lagerkvist - angest (dt. Fear marks the beginning of modern poetry in Sweden) - Birger Sjöberg , who previously with its idyllic and popular Fridas visor had become known (Frida's Songs), Hjalmar Gullberg , Artur Lundkvist and Harry Martinson . The latter two were also authors of the collection of poems Fem unga (Five Young), which came out in 1929 and gave the group of writers its name. They were joined by other poets, such as Karin Boye , whose poems were shaped by socialism and psychoanalysis, and Gunnar Ekelöf , the most radical of the moderns. Avant-garde impulses also came from the authors of Finnish-Swedish modernism .
Political developments in Germany also left their mark on Swedish literature. Under the influence of National Socialism , Pär Lagerkvist wrote the novels Bödeln (German: The Executioner ) 1933 and Dvärgen (German: The Dwarf ) 1944, which expose human evil, Karin Boye the future novel Kallocain (German: Kallocain ) 1940 and Eyvind Johnson related in his Krillon cycle position against National Socialism.
The time after the Second World War (1945–1995)
In the first decades after World War II , the real breakthrough of modernism in Swedish literature took place. Existential questions were now dealt with - especially in poetry - in an experimental, sometimes chaotic form. Erik Lindegren , Karl Vennberg , Werner Aspenström , Elsa Grave and Rut Hillarp belong to this generation of writers. Lars Forssell and Tomas Tranströmmer were able to benefit from the land gains of modernity in their poetry. Representatives of prose from the immediate post-war period are Lars Ahlin , a poet of ideas who follows an anti-naturalist aesthetic, and Stig Dagerman , whose novels revolve around guilt and fear. In the midst of all the experimentation, the realistic novel also lived on. Its representatives are u. a. Sara Lidman , who describes smallholder life in Norrland in her debut Tjärdalen (German: The Tar Pile ) in 1953, and Per Anders Fogelström with his descriptions of the big city, for example in Sommaren med Monika (German: The time with Monika ) 1951.
There was a turning point in Swedish literature in the mid-1960s. A new (world) political awareness required a literature that was critical of society. The social documentary novel and non-fictional texts such as reports and reports reached their peak. Per Olof Sundman wrote novels about people in borderline situations in a documentary style. Per Olov Enquist wrote the documentary novel Legionärerna (dt. The Delivered ) about the expulsion of the Baltic Sea from Sweden to the Soviet Union. Jan Myrdal presented a report från en kinesisk by (“Report from a Chinese village”). Other writers such as Pär Westberg and Sara Lidman also wrote about the world outside of Sweden. At the beginning of the 1970s, social and domestic political issues were increasingly updated, especially the women's issue, e.g. B. by Gun-Britt Sundström in För Lydia ("For Lydia") and Inger Alfvén in Dotter till en dotter ("Daughter of a daughter").
In the 1970s, the epic novel came to the fore again. Different regions in the transition between old and new are portrayed in novel cycles. Sven Delblanc describes the rural Sörmland in his Hedebysvit (Hedeby cycle) , Kerstin Ekmans Häxringarna (1974; German witch rings ) introduces the cycle about the Södermanland of the late 19th century and Sara Lidman returns with her five-part Jernbaneepos ("railway epic") about the Colonization of Västerbotten in the 19th century in literary terms. Also Göran Tunström portrays in his novels Prästungen (1976; dt. The child of a priest ) and Juloratoriet (1983; dt. Solveigs legacy ) his home Värmland . Against the background of the endangered social democratic social idyll , Klas Östergren observes the everyday life of partly eccentric, partly failing people, with themes from Strindberg echoing ( Attila 1975, Gentlemen 1980, Trilogie Ankare 1988, German Anker 1990). He became Sweden's most widely read author; since 1996 he has also been writing scripts.
Stig Larsson went public in the 1980s with a post-modernist prose, for example in the novel Autisterna (dt. The Autistic ). The epic narrative tradition is about by Torgny Lindgren ( Ormens väg på hälleberget 1982, dt .: The way of the snake and Hummelhonung 1995 dt. Hummel honey ) and the Strindberg -Biographen Per Olov Enquist ( musician Erna uttåg 1978, dt. Excerpt of musicians and Livläkarens besök 1999, German The personal physician's visit ) continued.
The lyrical work of the poet and playwright Katarina Frostenson is idiosyncratic and often difficult to understand . Lars Norén became the most important playwright of the coming decades with his family drama Modet att döda (“Courage to kill”) in 1980. He wrote 40 plays as well as numerous television and radio plays and, as successor to Ingmar Bergman , he headed the Swedish National Theater and the Reichstheater (a touring theater) until 2012 . Tobias Berggren and Birgitta Lillpers should also be mentioned as poets .
present
The present is also characterized by a turn to epic - sometimes somewhat dissolute - narration. In 1999, Kerstin Ekmann published Guds barmhärtighet, the first volume of the Vargskinnet trilogy, which was completed in 2003 (German: The Wolf's Pelt ). In 2009 Jonas Jonasson published his first novel under the original title Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann . In 2010 it was the best-selling book in Sweden. The translation rights have been sold in 35 countries (as of July 2013). In Germany, the book was published in August 2011 under the title The Hundred Years Old Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared , reached the Top 10 in September 2011 and topped the Spiegel bestseller list in early 2012. Eleven months after the start of sales, more than a million copies had been sold in Germany. Den siste Greken by Aris Fioretos (2009; German: The Last Greek , 2011), who was also a visiting professor in Berlin and is a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry , also caused a stir . In Die halbe Sonne (German 2013) he tells the story of his Greek father backwards from the nursing home to his exile under the military dictatorship.
Crime fiction
The Swedish detective novel was heavily influenced by foreign models until World War II . Only then does the detective novel refer to a genuinely Swedish milieu. In the sixties Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö initiated a collaboration that resulted in the internationally successful ten-volume cycle Roman om ett brott ( novel about a crime ). Her novels also have a distinct political dimension. As a result, more and more writers devoted themselves to the detective novel. Every year since 1971, the Svenska Deckarakademin has awarded the Swedish Crime Prize to the best Swedish-language work in various categories ( The Martin Beck Award , Bästa svenska kriminalroman , Bästa svenska debut, etc.). International success had Henning Mankell , who was twice awarded the Crime Price ( Faceless Killers (1991) Sidetracked (1995)) and whose novels were filmed and often, and Stieg Larsson and his three novels Män som hatar kvinnor ( "Men , die Frauen hassen ”, 2005; German title: Verblendung ), Flickan som lekte med elden (“ The girl who played with fire ”, 2006; German title Damnation ) and Luftslottet som sprängdes (“ The castle in the air that blew up was ", 2007; German title forgiveness ). Håkan Nesser , who became known for his novels about the characters of the inspectors Van Veeteren (filmed several times) and Barbarotti, as well as ten other novels, received the Swedish crime prize three times. Also the novels of the author duo Erik Axl Sund with the trilogy Kråkflickan (2010, German title: " Krähenmädchen "), Hungerelden (2011, German title: " Scar child ") and Pythians anvisningar: ["mord och psykoterapi"] (2012, German title: " Schattenschrei ") have been translated into several languages and are international bestsellers. A number of crime fiction writers, namely Camilla Läckberg , Åsa Larsson , Liza Marklund and Viveca Sten, became very well known - also outside of Sweden .
Children's literature
The first heyday of Swedish children's literature is around 1900. Elsa Beskow , Anna Maria Roos and Anna Wahlenberg are its most important representatives. In 1945 Astrid Lindgren made her breakthrough with Pippi Långstrump (Eng. Pippi Longstocking ). With Pippi Långstrump, who defies conventions and authorities, Astrid Lindgren freed children's literature from the burden of restrictive moralism. In her children's literature she often took up existential questions, such as life and death in Bröderna Lejonhjärta (German: The Lionheart Brothers ), courage and fear in Mio, min Mio (German Mio, my Mio ), the generation conflict in Ronja Rövardotter (German : The Lionheart Brothers ) . Ronja the robber's daughter ) u. a. Other innovators in the following decades include Maria Gripe , Gunnel Linde , Inge and Lasse Sandberg, Sven Nordqvist ( Pettersson and Findus ) and Moni Brännström ( Tsatsiki-Tsatsiki ).
Literary prizes
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786, annually awards the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nordic Prize . The Samfundet De Nio Foundation awards several literary prizes, including the one named after the poet Karl Vennberg .
The Swedish writer and philosopher Lars Gustafsson received the Nordic Prize in 2014 and the Swedish writer and playwright Agneta Pleijel in 2018 .
Swedish Nobel Prize Winners for Literature
- Selma Lagerlöf (1909)
- Verner von Heidenstam (1916)
- Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1931)
- Pär Lagerkvist (1951)
- Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson (1974)
- Tomas Tranströmmer (2011)
See also
Web links
literature
- Bernt Olsson, Ingemar Algulin: Litteraturens historia i Sverige . 4th edition. Norstedt, Stockholm 1995, ISBN 91-1-943632-7 .
- Göran Hägg: Den svenska literaturhistorien . Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1996, ISBN 91-46-16928-8 .
- Jürg Glauser (ed.): Scandinavian literary history. JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-476-01973-8 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Wilhelm Friese: From the Reformation to the Baroque. In: Fritz Paul (Ed.): Basic features of the newer Scandinavian literatures. Göttingen 1981, p. 6.
- ↑ Otto Oberholzer: Enlightenment, Classicism, Pre-Romanticism. In: Fritz Paul (Ed.): Basic features of the newer Scandinavian literatures. Darmstadt 1983, p. 61 ff.
- ^ Elisabeth Böker: Scandinavian bestsellers on the German book market. Analysis of the current literature boom. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg, ISBN 978-3-8260-6464-7 , p. 151-153, 316-317 .