Erik Johan Stagnelius

Erik Johan Stagnelius was born October 14, 1793 in Gärdslösa, on the island Öland, and died on April 3, 1823 in Stockholm. He was a Romantic poet from Sweden.

1810 to 1840 was a blossoming-time in Swedish poetry, and there were several writers of distinguished merit. Second only to Esaias Tegnér in genius, the brief life and mysterious death of Erik Johan Stagnelius have given a romantic interest to all that is connected with his name.

Life

His father was a vicar on Öland, which likely influenced Stagnelius spiritual thinking. He had several brothers and sisters. He took his Bachelor's Degree from Uppsala University in 1814. As a person he was said to have been notable ugly, to the degree that even prostitutes shunned him. A woman who knew him, said of his poetry "where in this shabby person lays the beauty which his poetry express?".

He was notably gloomy and lived alone for most of his life, although he seemed to flourish during brief visits to his home stead. As he first arrived to Stockholm, he astrived success as a poet, but this did not come until after his death.

His first publication was the epic of "Vladimir the Great" (1817); to this succeeded the romantic poem "Blanda". His singular dramas, "The Bacchantes" (1822), "Sigurd Ring", which was posthumous, and "The Martyrs" (1821), are esteemed by many critics to be his most original productions. His mystical lyrics, entitled "Liljor i Saron" ( Lilies in Sharon ; 1820), and his sonnets, which are best read in Swedish, may be recommended as among the most delicate products of the Scandinavian mind.

It is believed that he suffered a chronic physical condition causing him increasing pain, and that he used opium as his main remedy. On the details of his life, little is known. He had few if any friends, and no female friends either. At his death at the age of 29, no relatives were present at the funeral.

Poetry

Stagnelius has been compared, and not improperly, to Shelley. Several of Stagnelius poems were translated into English by Edmund Gosse (1886). The bulk of his poetry was found in a sack in his shaddy apartment, after his death. They were almost sent to be burnt, but were instead kept, and several are still being appreciated today for their romantic and mystic/spiritual qualities. The perhaps best known are the poem "Näcken," a romantic verse-based poem about the Nix; "Till förruttnelsen" (For Decay) and "Resa Amanda, jag ska" (Go Amanda, I will).

Philosophy

His thinking, which is evident from his later works, is influenced by mystics and romantic philosophers. Partly, he was also influenced by gnostic beliefs. Not proper, perhaps, in the Christian 19th century Sweden, this possible belief has been thoroughly examined, and is believed to have originated by a reading of the Swedish translation of Ginza Rba, the holy works of the Mandaeism, published as "Adam's Book". Other persons whose works he read and were likely influences were Schelling, Jakob Böhme and Plato.

References

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* Nordisk familjebok
* Part incorporated from corresponding article on Swedish Wikipedia.