Þorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914) was an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic poet. He graduated from

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik College) is collegein Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest ...

in 1883 and went to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

to study law. He never finished law school but during his time in Copenhagen his poems became known in Iceland. He returned to his home country in 1895 and died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

in 1914. Þorsteinn was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. While much of his poetry attacked the ruling classes and the church he also composed popular ditties and poems on nature reminiscent of

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. Sometimes, as in his poem ''Sólskríkjan'', the two themes are intertwined. Other well-known poems include: *''Arfurinn'' - an attack on Iceland's Danish oppressors. *''Í Hlíðarendakoti'' - fond memories of a childhood home *''Rask'' - in memory of Rasmus Christian Rask *''Snati og Óli'' - a ditty on a boy and his dog *''Þið munið hann Jörund'' - An extremely sarcastic take on the coup in 1809. *''Við fossinn'' - Another sarcastic poem, directed against industrialization. *''Örlög guðanna'' - a lament for the pagan gods Þorsteinn's volume of poetry, ''Þyrnar'' ("Thorns"), was first published in 1897 although many of the poems had been published before individually.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlingsson, Thorsteinn 1858 births 1914 deaths Thorsteinn Erlingsson Thorsteinn Erlingsson Thorsteinn Erlingsson Thorsteinn Erlingsson