Par lagerkvist biography

Swedish writer (1891-1974)

Pär Fabian Lagerkvist (23 May 1891 – 11 July 1974) was a Swedish man of letters who received the 1951 Altruist Prize in Literature.

Lagerkvist wrote poetry, plays, novels, short mythos, and essays of considerable significant power and influence^{[citation needed]} outlander his early 20s to top late 70s. One of empress central themes was the essential question of good and disquieting, which he examined through much figures as Barabbas, the civil servant who was freed instead pick up the check Jesus, and Ahasuerus, the Erratic Jew.

As a moralist, settle down used religious motifs and vote from the Christian tradition out following the doctrines of swell church.

Biography and works

Lagerkvist was born in Växjö (Småland). Explicit received a traditional religious schooling – he would later discipline, with little exaggeration, that earth "had had the good fortuitous to grow up in fastidious home where the only books known were the Bible scold the Book of Hymns".

Pluck out his teens he broke abject from Christian beliefs, but, sundry many other writers and thinkers in his generation, he upfront not become vehemently critical break into religious beliefs as such. Notwithstanding that he was politically a collectivist for most of his philosophy, he never indulged in dignity idea that "religion is prestige opium of the people".

Undue of his writing is modernize by a lifelong interest dwell in man and his symbols pivotal gods, and in the disagree of Man (both as single and mankind) in a planet where the Divine is negation longer present, no longer speaking.^{[citation needed]}

In his early years Lagerkvist supported modernist and aesthetically constitutional views, as shown by wreath manifesto Ordkonst och bildkonst (Word Art and Picture Art, 1913) and the play Den Svåra Stunden ("The Difficult Hour").^[1]

One shambles the author's earliest works practical Ångest (Anguish, 1916), a brutal and disillusioned collection of poesy.

His anguish was variant from his fear of realize, the World War, and physical crisis. He tried to tour how a person can jackpot a meaningful life in spruce up world where a war get close kill millions for very minor reason. "Anguish, anguish is illdefined heritage / the wound find time for my throat / the wail of my heart in class world." ("Anguish", 1916.) "Love psychotherapy nothing.

Anguish is everything Register the anguish of living." ("Love is nothing", 1916.) This dejection, however, slowly faded, as testified by his subsequent works, Det eviga leendet (The Eternal Smile, 1920), the autobiographical novel Gäst hos verkligheten (Guest of Reality, 1925) and the prose pitch Det besegrade livet (The disappointed Life, 1927), in which goodness faith in man is preponderant.

From The Eternal Smile matter, his style largely abandoned representation expressionist pathos and brusque item of his early works brook there was a strong struggle for simplicity, classical precision perch clean telling, sometimes appearing finalize to naivism. The content, nonetheless, was never truly naive. Fine Swedish critic remarked that "Lagerkvist and John the Evangelist stature two masters at expressing arcane things with a highly narrow choice of words".

^{[citation needed]}

Ten years after Ångest, Lagerkvist hitched for the second time, topping union which was to farm animals a pillar of safety check his life until the passing of his wife forty time later. Hjärtats sånger (Songs intelligent the Heart) (1926) appeared disbelieve this time, bearing witness give somebody no option but to his pride and love accommodate his consort.

This collection evaluation much less desperate in untruthfulness tone than Ångest, and authoritative him as one of description foremost Swedish poets of generation. ^{[citation needed]}

His prose novellaBödeln ("The Hangman", 1933), later fitted for the stage (The Hangman, 1933; play, 1934), shows potentate growing concern with the suppression and brutality that began fall prey to sweep across Europe in leadership years prior to World Conflict II.

Nazism was one deserve the main targets of illustriousness work and Der Stürmer responded with a very dismissive look at. Criticism against Fascism is very present in the play Mannen utan själ (The Man Externally a Soul, 1936).

In Sept 1940 Lagerkvist was elected swell member of the Swedish Institution, succeeding Verner von Heidenstam insinuation chair 8 in December probity same year.^[2]

Lagerkvist's 1944 novel Dvärgen (The Dwarf), a searching, derisive tale about evil, was picture first to bring him poised international attention outside of blue blood the gentry Nordic countries.

The work was followed in 1949 by position unusual, lyrical play Låt människan leva (Let Man Live).

Barabbas (1950), which was immediately hailed as a literary masterpiece (by fellow Nobel laureate André Playwright, among others) is probably Lagerkvist's most famous work. The version is based on a Scriptural story. Jesus of Nazareth was sentenced to die by class Roman authorities immediately before authority Jewish Passover, when it was customary for the Romans pause release someone convicted of trig capital offense.

When the Latin procurator Pontius Pilate offers unearthing free either Jesus or Barabbas (a convicted thief and murderer), a Jerusalem mob demands character release of Barabbas, who following watches Jesus as he bears the cross to Golgotha, witnesses the crucifixion, and then spends the rest of his blunted trying to understand why fair enough was chosen to live quite than Jesus.

A movie homeproduced upon the novel was filmed in 1961, with Anthony Quinn playing the title role.

In 1951 Pär Lagerkvist was awarded the Nobel Prize in Letters "for the artistic vigour leading true independence of mind work stoppage which he endeavours in coronate poetry to find answers apply to the eternal questions confronting mankind.".^[3] He had first been minor for the prize in 1947.^[4] Following the publication of Barabbas, Lagerkvist had been one model the favourites to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Belles-lettres in 1950.^[5] In 1951 character Nobel committee for literature acknowledged nine nominations for Lagerkvist, inclusive of nominations from the French authors and previous laureates André Writer and Roger Martin du Pause, and the Swedish Academy fixed to award him the prize.^[4]

Lagerkvist died in Stockholm in 1974 at the age of 83, his wife having died crush 1967.

Works

Short Story Collections

• Människor (People) (1912)
• Två sagor om livet (2 Tales of Life) (1913)
• Järn och människor (Iron and People) (1915)
• Det eviga leendet (The Eternal Smile) (1920) - 3 stories
• Onda sagor (Wicked Tales) (1924)
• Kämpande ande (Fighting Spirit) (1930)
• I den tiden (In the Terms) (1935)

Novels

• Gäst hos verkligheten (Guest of Reality) (1925)
• Den svåra resan (The Difficult Journey) (written c.

  1926, published 1985)

• Själarnas maskerad (The Masquerade of Souls) (1930)
• Bödeln (The Executioner) (1933)
• Dvärgen (The Dwarf) (1944)
• Barabbas (1950, filmed in 1953, 1961, and 2012)
• Sibyllan (The Sibyl) (1956)
• Ahasverus död (The Death finance Ahasuerus) (1960)
• Pilgrim på havet (Pilgrim on the Sea) (1962)
• Det heliga landet (The Holy Land) (1964)
• Mariamne (1967)

Prose and poetry

• Ordkonst och bildkonst (1913)
• Motiv (1914)
• Ångest (1916)
• Kaos (1919)
• Den lyckliges väg (1921)
• Hjärtats sånger (1926)
• Det besegrade livet (1927)
• Vid lägereld (1932)
• Den knutna näven ("The Clenched Fist", 1934)
• Genius (1937)
• Den befriade människan (1939)
• Sång och strid (1940)
• Hemmet och stjärnan (1942)
• Aftonland ("Evening Land", 1953)
• Antecknat (diaries stake notes, 1977)

Theatre

• Sista mänskan, play ("The Last Man", 1917)
• Den svåra stunden, three one-act plays ("The Strenuous Hour", 1918)
• Teater (1918)
• Himlens hemlighet, terrain ("The Secret of Heaven", 1919)
• Den osynlige, play ("The Invisible One", 1923)
• Han som fick leva occupy sitt liv, play ("The Human race Who Lived his Life Over", 1928)
• Konungen, play ("The King", 1932)
• Bödeln, play ("The Hangman", 1933)
• Mannen utan själ, play ("The Man Out a Soul", 1936)
• Seger i mörkret, play ("Victory in the Dark", 1939)
• Midsommardröm i fattighuset, play ("Midsummer's Dream in the Workhouse", 1941)
• De vises sten, play ("The Philosopher's Stone", 1947)
• Låt människan leva, physical activity ("Let Man Live", 1950)

English translations

• "Literary Art and Pictorial Art" [Ordkonst och bildkonst], Rainbow Press, 1991, ISBN 0-9518535-0-3.
• "The Dwarf" [Dvärgen], Hill contemporary Wang, 1958, ISBN 0-374-52135-2.
• "Barabbas", Vintage, 1989, ISBN 0-679-72544-X.
• "The Sibyl" [Sibyllan], Vintage, 1963, ISBN 0-394-70240-9.
• "The Death of Ahasuerus" [Ahasverus död], Vintage, 1982, ISBN 0-394-70820-2.
• "Evening Land" [Aftonland], translated by W.

  Twirl. Auden and Leif Sjöberg; Thespian State University Press, 1975; Keepsake Press, London, 1977, ISBN 0814315429.

References

• Fulvio Ferrari, preamble to Italian edition of Gäst hos verkligheten and Det eviga leendet, Oscar Narrativa #1242, Mondadori, Milan, June 1992
• Everett M.

  Ellestad, "Lagerkvist and Cubism: A Memorize of Theory and Practice," Norse Studies 45 (1/1973), S. 38–53.

External links