Fyrtiotalism ("Fortiesism") is the name of a literary movement in Swedish literature in the 1940s. The writers were not a united group, but represented a new generation of literature with a modernist tendency. Their work, influenced by writers such as

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

and the events during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, marked the breakthrough and establishment of

Modernist Swedish literature The period of Modernistic Swedish literature started in the 1910s. Some regard 1910 itself as the beginning, when August Strindberg published several critical newspaper articles, contesting many conservative values. Several other years are also poss ...

. Leading representatives of the movement was

Erik Lindegren Erik Lindegren (August 5, 1910 – May 31, 1968) was a Swedish author, poet, critical writer and member of the Swedish Academy (1962–68, chair 17). Grandson of composer Johan Lindegren. Lindegren was born in Luleå, Norrbotten County, the s ...

and

Karl Vennberg Karl Vennberg (11 April 1910 – 12 May 1995) was a Swedish poet, writer and translator. Born in Blädinge, Alvesta Municipality, Kronoberg County as the son of a farmer, Vennberg studied at Lund University and in Stockholm and worked as a teac ...

. Other prominent representatives was

Stig Dagerman Stig Halvard Dagerman (5 October 1923 – 4 November 1954) was a Swedish author and journalist prominent in the aftermath of World War II. Biography Stig Dagerman was born Stig Halvard Andersson in Älvkarleby, Uppsala County. He later took his ...

, the poet

Werner Aspenström Karl Werner Aspenström (13 November 1918 – 25 January 1997) was a Swedish poet. Born at Norrbärke, he was a member of the Swedish Academy, where he held Seat 12 from 1981 to 1997. Following his breakthrough in 1949 with ''Snölegend ...

, novelist

Lars Ahlin Lars Ahlin (4 April 1915 – 11 March 1997) was a Swedish author and aesthetician. Biography Ahlin left school when he was 13 to support his family, although he later attended several folk high schools. When he was 18, he had a mystical experi ...

and critic Lennart Göthberg. The magazine ''40-tal'' (1944-1947) was a central forum for the authors to publish their ideas in articles, essays and literary contributions.

The literature

The literature of ''fyrtiotalism'' was often experimental and focused on the universal existential questions. A central work is

's surreal "shattered

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s" in ''mannen utan väg'' (''The Man Without a Way'', 1942) that expresses the despair and desillusion of the time.

's more low-key poetry is marked by skepticism and irony in works such as ''Halmfackla'' (''Straw Torch'', 1944).

appeared as another prominent poet with his ''Skriket och tystnaden'' (''The Scream and the Silence'', 1946).

and

were the leading prose writers. With novels such as ''Ormen'' (''The Snake'', 1945) and ''De dömdas ö'' (''The Island of the Doomed'', 1946) Dagerman became one of the best known representatives of ''fyrtiotalism''. The

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

was prominent with writers such as Dagerman, Thorsten Jonsson,

Sivar Arnér Sivar Arnér (13 March 1909 – 13 January 1997) was a Swedish novelist and playwright. Biography Sivar Arnér was born at Arby parish in Kalmar County, Sweden. Arnér was the son of the merchant Ernst Arnér and Hilda Nilsson. His brother ...

and Olov Jonason.

The debates

''Fyrtiolism'' was also noted for its many polemic debates between the modernists and their detractors. The form and language of modernist works such as Lindegren's ''mannen utan väg'' was attacked as "incomprehensible" by older critics, which resulted in a heated debate. The debate was further fuelled when ''Camera obscura'' (1946) by Jan Wictor (a pseudonym for

Lars Gyllensten Lars Johan Wictor Gyllensten (12 November 1921 – 25 May 2006) was a Swedish author and physician, and a member of the Swedish Academy. Gyllensten was born and grew up in a middle-class family in Stockholm, son of Carl Gyllensten and Ingrid Ran ...

and a friend), a work that many critics took seriously, turned out to be a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of modernist poetry. Another debate was about the pessimism in ''fyrtiotalism'' literature.

References

Lars Lönnroth and Sven Delblanc ''Den svenska litteraturen. 5, Modernister och arbetardiktare: 1920-1950.'' Albert Bonniers förlag 1989 ISBN 91-34-50865-1 Swedish literature Modernist literature Literary movements