Fyrtiotalism ("Forties-ism", referring to the 1940s) is the name of a literary movement in

Swedish literature Swedish literature () is the literature written in the Swedish language or by writers from Sweden. The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone, carved during the Viking Age circa 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christi ...

. The writers were not a united group, but represented a new generation of literature with a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

tendency. Their work, influenced by writers such as

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

and the events during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, marked the breakthrough and establishment of Modernist Swedish literature. Leading representatives of the movement were

Erik Lindegren Erik Lindegren (5 August 1910 – 31 May 1968) was a Swedish author, poet, critical writer and member of the Swedish Academy (1962–68, chair 17). Grandson of composer Johan Lindegren. Lindegren was born in Luleå, Norrbotten County, the son of ...

and Karl Vennberg. Other prominent representatives were

Stig Dagerman Stig Halvard Dagerman (5 October 1923 – 4 November 1954) was a Swedish author and journalist prominent in the aftermath of World War II. Biography Stig Dagerman was born Stig Halvard Andersson in Älvkarleby, Uppsala County. He later took h ...

, the poet

Werner Aspenström Karl Werner Aspenström (13 November 1918 – 25 January 1997) was a Swedish poet. Born at Norrbärke, he was a member of the Swedish Academy, where he held Seat 12 from 1981 to 1997. Following his breakthrough in 1949 with ''Snölegen ...

, novelist Lars Ahlin and critic

Lennart Göthberg Lennart or Lennarth is a Germanic variant of the name Leonard, most common in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries as a surname or masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Camilla Lennarth (born 1988), Swedish go ...

. The magazine ''40-tal'' (1944-1947) was a central forum for the authors to publish their ideas in articles, essays and literary contributions.

The literature

The literature of ''fyrtiotalism'' was often experimental and focused on the universal existential questions. A central work is

's surreal "shattered

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

s" in ''mannen utan väg'' (''The Man Without a Way'', 1942) that expresses the despair and desillusion of the time. Karl Vennberg's more low-key poetry is marked by skepticism and irony in works such as ''Halmfackla'' (''Straw Torch'', 1944).

appeared as another prominent poet with his ''Skriket och tystnaden'' (''The Scream and the Silence'', 1946).

and Lars Ahlin were the leading prose writers. With novels such as '' Ormen'' (''The Snake'', 1945) and '' De dömdas ö'' (''Island of the Doomed'', 1946) Dagerman became one of the best known representatives of ''fyrtiotalism''. The

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

was prominent with writers such as Dagerman, Thorsten Jonsson,

Sivar Arnér Sivar Arnér (13 March 1909 – 13 January 1997) was a Swedish novelist and playwright. Biography Sivar Arnér was born at Arby parish in Kalmar County, Sweden. Arnér was the son of the merchant Ernst Arnér and Hilda Nilsson. His brother ...

and Olov Jonason.

The debates

''Fyrtiolism'' was also noted for its many polemic debates between the modernists and their detractors. The form and language of modernist works such as Lindegren's ''mannen utan väg'' was attacked as "incomprehensible" by older critics, which resulted in a heated debate. The debate was further fuelled when ''Camera obscura'' (1946) by Jan Wictor (a pseudonym for

Lars Gyllensten Lars Johan Wictor Gyllensten (12 November 1921 – 25 May 2006) was a Swedish author and physician, and a member of the Swedish Academy. Gyllensten was born and grew up in a middle-class family in Stockholm, son of Carl Gyllensten and Ingrid ...

and a friend), a work that many critics took seriously, turned out to be a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of modernist poetry. Another debate was about the

pessimism Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half ...

in ''fyrtiotalism'' literature.

References

Lars Lönnroth and Sven Delblanc ''Den svenska litteraturen. 5, Modernister och arbetardiktare: 1920-1950.'' Albert Bonniers förlag 1989 ISBN 91-34-50865-1 Swedish literature Modernist literature Literary movements