KELLGREN, JOHAN HENRIC

(1751-1795)

A Swedish poet andcritic, Kellgren had his roots in neoclassical tastes and Enlightenment thought, but also showed appreciation for the preromanticism of the late 1700s. Born into a clerical family and afflicted with tuberculosis most of his adult life, Kellgren was educated at Abo University in Finland, where he studied classical literature. His numerous allusions to Greek and Roman writers make his poetry less accessible to contemporary readers.

Kellgren was attracted to Stockholm by the literary and cultural flowering associated with the court of KingGustav III. He became associated with the newspaperStockholms Posten(The Stockholm Post) and was also a leading member of the literary society Utile Dulci (Usefulness and Pleasure)—named after a core dictum in Horace'sArs Poetica—in which he had some editorial responsibilities. His position as cultural leader was consolidated when he was asked to collaborate with the king on the operaGustaf Wasa, which premiered 19 January 1786. King Gustav produced a prose draft in French, which Kellgren then turned into Swedish verse. The two of them similarly produced the libretto forGustafAdolfoch Ebba Brahe(1786-1787; Gustaf Adolf and Ebba Brahe), after which Kellgren got tired of the collaboration. While Kellgren was at first critical of the work ofCarl Michael Bellman, he later wrote an appreciative introduction to Bellman'sFredmans epistlar(1790; Fredman's Epistles), in which he acknowledged the poet's genius.