Jónas Hallgrímsson

Sveinn Yngvi Egilsson (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 16 Nov 1807
Died 26 May 1845

Places

Born in Iceland
Active in Iceland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Hallgrímsson's Works

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Jónas Hallgrímsson is the single most influential poet of modern Icelandic literature. “His work transformed the literary sensibility of his countrymen, reshaped the language of their poetry and prose, opened their eyes to the beauty of their land and its natural features, and accelerated their determination to achieve political independence” (Dick Ringler). Along with the other members of the group associated with the periodical

Fjölnir

(issued 1835-39 and 1843-1846), Jónas defined Icelandic national Romanticism for decades to come, and after his premature death became its poetical icon. When Iceland gained full independence from Denmark in 1918 and became a republic in 1944 (it had been a province in the Danish state since the late 14th century), Jónas’s poetry gradually lost…

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1249 words

Citation: Yngvi Egilsson, Sveinn. "Jónas Hallgrímsson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 September 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14820, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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