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literati re.
493
made its entry, and in the later periods of the productivity of Geijer and
Almqvist these ideas are already clearly discernible. But the liberal views are
cherished especially by some young writers and authors, gathering around L. J.
Hierta (1801 — 72), who made an epoch in the history of the Swedish press by
his newspaper "Aftonbladet". The authors of this time are generally less
theoretical and esthetic than practical in character. Among them may be mentioned
0. P. Sturzen-Becker (1811 — 69, nom de plume, "Orvar Odd"), the finest and most
brilliant Swedish causeur and publicist, trained in the school of Heine and the
French essayists; and A. Blanche (1811—68), known by his comedies and novels
in the genre of Eugene Sue, and above all by his sketches of Stockholm life.
Among the pioneers of liberalism outside of this circle is to be counted K. T. A.
Strandberg (1818—77, nom de plume, "Talis Qualis"), a lyric poet with an
energetic, ringing note, and a distinguished translator. Notable among his translations
is one of Byron’s "Don Juan". Further them is to be noticed B. E. Malmström
(1816—65), who, opposing the new romanticism, produced poems born of Swedish
manliness and ancient classical studies, which were received with admiration by
the young students of that day. Such was also the case with J. Nybom
(1815 — 89), whose somewhat bombastic lyrics gave expression to the young
students’ enthusiasm for liberal tendencies and national elevation after the
political storms of 1848. In this connection, also, two poets should be mentioned
among the most widely read, viz., Elias Sehlstedt (1808 — 74), who was much
admired for his charming songs, and K. A. Wetterbergh (1804—89), who wrote
(above the signature "Oncle Adam") short highly appreciated genre sketches.
The realistic tendencies of the age found expression in the ever-increasing
predominance of prose in literature. It was especially the novel, which, from
the romantic authors and above all from Almqvist, had attained to a greater
development, and which now enters of period of success; but, having before
been historical, exotic, or fantastic, it now, in the age of the bourgeoisie,
comes down to homely, every-day life. Fredrika Bremer (1801 — 65) took her
model from those English novelists who paint the home-life of the eighteenth
century. Her first production was "Teckningar ur vardagslivet" (Sketches from
Everyday Life), characterized by an idealistic, somewhat sentimental tone, not
infrequently humorous; but at the end of her life she devoted herself to
"tendency" novels. She sought to advance the humanitarian ideas of the time,
and especially the emancipation of women, and thereby gained a fame outside
Sweden that equalled, if it did not surpass, that of Tegnér. There appeared
many other male and female novelists, whose greatest merit it was that they
wrote for and about their own countrymen. Their aim was rather moral than
esthetic. At the same time that Fredrika Bremer published her novels, Sofia
Margareta von Knorring (1797—1848) pictured the higher social classes, and
Emilie Flygare-Carlén (1804—92) gained great celebrity by her Sketches from the
fisherpeoples’ life in the archipelage of the coast of Bohuslän.
A deep appreciation of his native countrys’ nature, and a warm love of
the people are distinctive traits of the new and significant tendencies in poetry
aroused by J. L. Runeberg (1804—77) in Finland. Though belonging to a
Swedish family, he was no longer a Swede when he began to gain fame as
a poet. Runeberg is a realist in the best meaning of that word, and he has
acquired his epic clearness in part from the calm, sad, Slavonic "folksongs",
and in part from the harmonious and beautiful world of ancient Greece. In
some of his works his intimate knowledge of Goethe, Byron, and Almqvist are
clearly discernible. Above all, he loves to portray the nature and people of
Finland, as he has done especially in his great epic "Älgskyttarne" (The
Elk-hunters), which in beauty can be compared with Goethe’s "Hermann und
Dorothea", if it does not even surpass that work. He is entirely original in his
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