Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/398

the severe sufferings and cares that were his lot. At times he soars free from trouble far above the earth, with eyes and heart open to the harmony of creation; bathing in the glowing light of the ether he forgets all grief; but at other times goaded into rage by his tortures, he abandons himself to images and thoughts so repulsive "that even the æsthetics of the horrible have no name for them." Between these extremes—between heaven and hell—he moves with genuine poetic vigor and superiority, and he is a skilful master of form, so that his poems are on the whole very valuable, though many of them are obscure on account of the peculiar mystic-pantheistic musings which they contain. His first great work was the epic poem, "Wladimir den store," which is characterized by vivid descriptions. His other similar works, "Blenda," "Gunlög," and others were never completed. Among his dramas we would particularly mention the religious tragedy, "Martyrerne," in which in a most thrilling manner he has conceived and carried out the idea of life as a punishment and a suffering. In his drama, "Riddartårnet" (the knight's tower), the diction is gorgeous, while the theme is not well adapted for the stage. The tragedy in antique style, "Bacchantorna," and those in antique form with Old Norse motives, "Visbur" and "Sigurd Ring," are more attractive, though the gnostic principles of the poet are displayed in "Visbur" and "Sigurd Ring" in so prominent a way as to injure the dramatic effect. Striking scenes are found in the plays, "Glädjeflicken i Rom" (the pleasure girl in Rome) and "Kärlek aften döden" (Love after death). The most original of his works is the half philo- sophical and half religious cycle of poems, "Liljor i Saron" (1820), in which he sets forth his views of the human soul as a prisoner in the halls of the princes of the world, and longing for the heavenly splendor, whence it came. Several of these sublime poems belong to the most beautiful ornaments of Swedish literature. Many of his short poems are