5.5.3 Later Icelandic literature
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This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
5.5.3 Later Icelandic literature
The epic Icelandic tradition climaxed in the 13th century. Pre-Reformation
literature also includes Eysteinn Ásgrimsson's religious poem Lilja (14th
century), a number of popular ballads, and the rímur, which were cycles of
epic poetry.
After the Reformation, Iceland experienced three centuries of poverty, which
also affected its literature, although in the 17th century Hallgrímur
Pétursson wrote his important Passion Hymns. Romanticism bloomed in the 19th
century in the poetry of Jónas Hallgrímsson and Grímur Thomsen, while the
novelist Jón Thoroddsen foreshadowed realism. In the early 20th century some
Icelanders began to write in Danish; the most important of them was the
novelist Gunnar Gunnarsson.
After World War I, Icelandic literature experienced a renaissance,
especially in form of the poetry of Stefán frá Hvítadal, Davíð Stefánsson,
and Tómas Guðmundsson. Of the prose writers of this era the most prominent
were Þórbergur Þórðarson and the Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness, the
most important figure of modern Icelandic literature. After World War II
another generation of poets took over, introducing modernist features into
the heavily traditional Icelandic poetry. Among the leaders of this
avant-garde were Steinn Steinarr and Jón úr Vör. Some of the writers active
in Iceland today are the poets Hannes Pétursson and Snorri Hjartarson, and
the novelists Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson (who is also a poet), Thor
Vilhjálmsson, and Indriði G. Þorsteinsson.
For electronic versions of some of the works of Nordic literature, see the
collection of Project Runeberg:
* <http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/>
* <ftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se/pub/runeberg>
* gopher.lysator.liu.se ; path: /project-runeberg
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