Karl Fredrik Dahlgren (1791–1844) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

poet. At a time when literary partisanship ran high in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and the writers divided themselves into Goths and Phosphorists, Dahlgren made himself indispensable to the Phosphorists by his polemical activity. In the

mock-heroic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...

poem of ("Markall's Sleepless Nights"), in which the Phosphorists ridiculed the academician Per Adam Wailmark and others, Dahlgren, who was a genuine humorist, took a prominent part.

Life

He was born at Stensbruk in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

on 20 June 1791. In 1825 he published ("The Tower of Babel"), a satire, and a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, ; and in 1828 two volumes of poems. In 1829 he was appointed to an ecclesiastical post in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, which he held until his death. In a series of

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

s and

dithyramb The dithyramb (; grc, διθύραμβος, ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in ''The Laws'', while discussing ...

ic pieces, entitled (1819, 1820), he strove to emulate the wonderful lyric genius of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

, of whom he was a student and follower. From 1825 to 1827 he edited a critical journal entitled ("The Comet"), and in company with he founded the , a short-lived society of agricultural socialists. In 1834 he collected his poems in one volume; and in 1837 appeared his last book, ("Steamboat Songs"). In 1837 he was the secretary for

Pro Fide et Christianismo (full name , ) is a Christian association within the Church of Sweden. The organization was an "informal or semi-official national school board" prior to the founding of Sweden's public education system and made a significant impact on Sweden's ...

, a Christian education society. He was also a member of the

Par Bricole Par Bricole is a Swedish Bacchanalian order society for men only, founded in Stockholm on 15 May 1779 in Källaren Kejsarkronan at Drottninggatan 6. The main sources of inspiration were the Freemasons and Carl Michael Bellman's sayings about Ba ...

society. On 1 May 1844 he died at Stockholm. Dahlgren is one of the best humorous writers that Sweden has produced; but he was perhaps at his best in realistic and idyllic description. His little poem of ''Zephyr and the Girl'', which is to be found in every selection from Swedish poetry, is a good example of his sensuous and ornamented style. His works were collected and published after his death by A. J. Arwidsson (Stockholm, 1847–1852).

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahlgren, Carl Fredrik 1791 births 1844 deaths People from Norrköping Municipality People from Östergötland Swedish-language poets 19th-century Swedish poets 19th-century male writers