ATTERBOM, PER DANIEL AMADEUS

(1790-1855)

A Swedish poet and playwright, Atterbom was a major spokesperson forromanticismin Sweden. He was strongly influenced by the German romantics, and particularly Friedrich W. J. Schelling'sSystem of Transcendental Idealism(1800) and Johann Gottlieb Fichte'sScience ofKnowledge(1794). As a student at Uppsala University, Atterbom was deeply involved in the debate between classicism and romanticism, even to the point of exhaustion. He was a central figure in the group Auroraforbundet (TheAurora Society), which sponsored the important journalPhosphorus.

Atterbom's first major publication was a cycle of poems,Blommorna(The Flowers), which was published in the annualPoetisk kalender(Poetic Calendar) in 1812.Poetisk kalenderwas very popular as a Christmas gift, andBlommornareached a large audience. The poems in the cycle symbolized both the seasons of the year and different aspects of human life.

One of the major romantic genres was thefairy-taleplay (sagos-peloreventyrspill), and Atterbom tried his hand at it with hisFågel bla, a fragment of which was published inPoetisk kalenderin 1818, but which remained incomplete. He did, however, complete his second effort in this genre,Lycksalighetens o(1824-1827; The Isle of Bliss), in which the main character, King Astolf, spends 300 years in the company of the forever young Felicia. This poetic drama is Atterbom's major work as well as one of the great works of Swedish romanticism.