Swedish Literature

Swedish literature () refers to literature written in the Swedish language or by writers from Sweden.

The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone, carved during the Viking Age circa 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore, there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only flourished after the Swedish literary language was developed in the 16th century, which was largely due to the full translation of the Christian Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible.

With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm (17th century), who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren (18th century), the first to write fluent Swedish prose; Carl Michael Bellman (late 18th century), the first writer of burlesque ballads; and August Strindberg (late 19th century), a socio-realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame. In Sweden, the period starting in 1880 is known as realism because the writing had a strong focus on social realism.

In the 1900s, one of the earliest novelists was Hjalmar Söderberg. The early 20th century continued to produce notable authors, such as Selma Lagerlöf (Nobel laureate 1909) and Pär Lagerkvist (Nobel laureate 1951). A well-known proletarian writer who gained fame after World War I was Vilhelm Moberg; between 1949 and 1959, he wrote the four-book series '' The Emigrants'' (Swedish: ''Utvandrarna''), often considered one of the best literary works from Sweden. In the 1960s, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö collaborated to produce a series of internationally acclaimed detective novels. The most successful writer of detective novels is Henning Mankell, whose works have been translated into 37 languages. In the spy fiction genre, the most successful writer is Jan Guillou.

In recent decades, a handful of Swedish writers have established themselves internationally, such as the detective novelist Henning Mankell and thriller writer Stieg Larsson. Also well known outside of Sweden is the children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, author of works such as Pippi Longstocking and Emil of Maple Hills.

There is also a strong tradition of Swedish as the literary language of the Finnish nobility; after the separation in the start of the 19th century, Finland has produced Swedish-language writers such as Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who wrote the Finnish national epic ''The Tales of Ensign Stål'', and Tove Jansson.

Old Norse

image:Rökstenen 2.jpg, The Rök runestone, the start of Swedish literature

Most runestones had a practical, rather than a literary, purpose and are therefore mainly of interest to historians and philologists. Several runic inscriptions are also nonsensical by nature, being used for magical or incantatory purposes. The most notable literary exception is the Rök runestone from circa 800 AD. It contains the longest known inscription, and encompasses several different passages from sagas and legends, in various prosodic forms. Part of it is written in alliterative verse, or ''fornyrdislag''. It is generally regarded as the beginning of Swedish literature.Gustafson, 1961 (Chapter 1)

Middle Ages

The Christianization of Sweden was one of the main events in the country's history, and it naturally had an equally profound impact on literature.

The Gök runestone is a case in point of how the older literature dissolved. It uses the same imagery as the Ramsund carving, but a Christian cross has been added and the images are combined in a way that completely distorts the internal logic of events.Lönnroth, L. & Delblanc, S. (1993). ''Den svenska litteraturen. 1, Från forntid till frihetstid : 800–1718''. Stockholm : Bonnier Alba. p. 49. Whatever the reason may have been, the Gök stone illustrates how the pagan heroic mythos was going towards its dissolution, during the introduction of Christianity.

Literature now looked to foreign texts to provide models. By 1200, Christianity was firmly established and a Medieval European culture appeared in Sweden. Only a selected few mastered the written language, but little was written down. The earliest works written in Swedish were provincial laws, first written down in the 13th century.

Most education was provided by the Catholic Church, and therefore the literature from this period is mainly of a theological or clerical nature. The majority of other literature written consists of law texts. An exception to this are the rhyming chronicles, written in knittelvers.

16th and 17th century

Reformation literature

Swedish Reformation literature is considered to have been written between 1526 and 1658. However, this period has not been highly regarded from a literary point of view. It is generally considered a step back in terms of literary development. The main reason was King Gustav Vasa's wish to control and censor all publications, with the result that only the Bible and a few other religious works were published. At the same time, Catholic monasteries were plundered and Catholic books were burnt. The king did not consider it important to reestablish higher education, so Uppsala University was left to decay.

There were comparatively few groups of writers during this time. The burghers still had little influence, while the Church clerics had had their importance severely reduced. The Protestant Reformation of the 1520s left priests with a fraction of their previous political and economic power. Those Swedes who wanted higher education usually had to travel abroad to the universities of Rostock or Wittenberg.Tigerstedt

Apart from Christian Reformation literature there was one other significant ideological movement. This was Gothicismus, which glorified Sweden's ancient history.

While contributions to Swedish culture were sparse, this period did at least provide an invaluable basis for future development. Most importantly, the Swedish Bible translation of 1541, the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible, gave Sweden a uniform language for the first time. Secondly, the introduction of the printing press resulted in literature being spread to groups it had previously been unable to reach.

Renaissance literature

The period in Swedish history between 1630 and 1718 is known as the Swedish Empire. It partly corresponds to an independent literary period. The literature of the Swedish Empire era is regarded as the beginning of the Swedish literary tradition.

Renaissance literature is considered to have been written between 1658 and 1732. It was in 1658 that Georg Stiernhielm published his ''Herculus'', the first hexametrical poem in the Swedish language.

When Sweden became a great power, a stronger middle class culture arose. Unlike the age of the Reformation, education was no longer solely a matter of ecclesiastical

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