Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/426

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LITERATURE OF THE SCANDINAVIAN NORTH.

poems, among which are "Luisella," and "Noveller berättade på ottave rime," have become great favorites on account of their elegant form and charming contents. Karl Rupert Nyblom (born 1832) has published a number of merry songs, and under the pseudonym "Carlino," a series of interesting "Bilder från Italien." Ernst Daniel Björck (1838-68) created by his "Naturbilder," which were crowned by the Academy, and by a few other poems, great and well founded expectations, the realization of which was cut off by his early death.[1]

Among the Swedish lyric poets still living count Karl Johan Gustaf Snoilsky is decidedly the first. He has not written much, but every thing proceeding from his pen is marked by a wealth of original thought and splendid style. He has rendered Goethe's ballads in Swedish in so masterly a manner that nothing has been lost of their original depth and grace.[2] Frans Hedberg (born 1828) is the author of a few very fine historical plays (Brölloppet på Ulfåsa, etc.), but his stories and lyric poems are not equally good.

During the present century Swedish literature has been enriched with a great number of excellent translations from foreign languages. We may add to those already mentioned the translation of Shakespeare by Karl August Hagberg (1810-64); of Tasso and Ariosto by Karl Anders Kullberg (born 1818); of Dante and Camoens by Nils Lovén (died 1858); of Milton by Emanuel Öman (born 1833), etc.

The national movement in Swedish literature in the beginning of this century could not fail to have a fruitful influence on the national historiography. Next after Geijer, Anders Magnus Strinnholm (1786-1862) is especially emi-

  1. F. W. Scholander: Fjolners Saga, Götheborg, 1867. Luisella, Stockholm, 1867. Noveller berättade på ottave rime," Stockholm, 1868. K. R.Nyblom: Bilder från Italien, Upsala, 1864. Vers och prosa, Upsala, 1870. Valda dikter, Upsala, 1876. E. D. Björck: Valda dikter, Stockholm, 1869.
  2. R. J. G. Snoilsky: Dikter, Stockholm, 1878