Karlfeldt, Erik Axel

(1864-1931)

   A Swedish poet, Karlfeldt hailed from the province of Dalarna, which he celebrated in verse throughout his career as a neoromantic and regionalist poet. After studying literature and English, he had his debut with the collection Vildmarks- och karleksvisor (1895; Songs of Wilderness and Love), in which he dwells on the harmony between humans and nature and where subconscious forces are given such symbolic expression as the Greek god Pan and the more homey witches. In his next two volumes of poetry, Fridolins visor och andra dikter (1898; Fridolin's Songs and Other Poems) and Fridolins lustgard och Dalmalningar pa rim (1901; Fridolin's Pleasure Garden and Dalarna Paintings in Rhyme), Karlfeldt introduces the character Fridolin, apparently modeled on Carl Michael Bellman's Fredman, but whose retinue of compatriots are of much less interest than those of the older poet. Flora och Pomona (1906; Flora and Pomona) takes its title from the names of the goddesses of flowers and fruit and is replete with references to the classical world. This is also the case with Karlfeldt's next volume of poetry, Flora och Bellona (1918; Flora and Bellona), in which World War I—Bellona is the goddess of war—and the Russian Revolution are juxtaposed with the poet's longing for his beloved Dalarna of the past. Karlfeldt's final volume of poetry, Hösthorn (1927; Autumnal Horn), represents a nostalgic return to a relatively uncomplicated past that is contrasted with a rapidly changing present. The poet was awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously in 1931.