63 research outputs found
”Ja, denna stig är stigarnas stig” : Taoistiska influenser i Vilhelm Ekelunds verk
No full textMattias Aronsson, ”Ja, denna stig är stigarnas stig”. Taoistiska influenser i Vilhelm Ekelunds verk (“Yes, this path is the path of paths”. Taoist influence in the works of Vilhelm Ekelund) In this article I show how Taoist philosophy has influenced the Swedish poet, essayist and aphorist Vilhelm Ekelund. I note that the author mentions the Taoist philosophers Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and discusses their ideas on a couple of occasions in his later works (Atticism – Humanism, 1943; Plus salis–, 1945). Examples of such explicit influence can also be found in Ekelund’s private notebooks, posthumously published in two volumes: Hemkomst och flykt (1972) and Ur en scholaris’ verkstad (1974). I argue that Taoist philosophy implicitly influenced the Swedish author as early as the second part of the 1910’s – when he started to emphasize such principles as moderation, composure, dispassion and non-desire in his writing. I also discuss other important ideals which Ekelund shared with the Taoist philosophers, such as poverty, humility, simplicity and dishonour. Finally, I see a parallel in the anti-intellectual aspects of Taoist thinking and Ekelund’s use of the term misologi (misology), a word which often has positive connotations in his works. In Ekelund’s prose, as well as in the famous Taoist text Tao Te Ching, excessive intellectualism is frequently criticized
”Ja, denna stig är stigarnas stig” [Elektronisk resurs] : Taoistiska influenser i Vilhelm Ekelunds verk
No full textMattias Aronsson, ”Ja, denna stig är stigarnas stig”. Taoistiska influenser i Vilhelm Ekelunds verk (“Yes, this path is the path of paths”. Taoist influence in the works of Vilhelm Ekelund) In this article I show how Taoist philosophy has influenced the Swedish poet, essayist and aphorist Vilhelm Ekelund. I note that the author mentions the Taoist philosophers Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and discusses their ideas on a couple of occasions in his later works (Atticism – Humanism, 1943; Plus salis–, 1945). Examples of such explicit influence can also be found in Ekelund’s private notebooks, posthumously published in two volumes: Hemkomst och flykt (1972) and Ur en scholaris’ verkstad (1974). I argue that Taoist philosophy implicitly influenced the Swedish author as early as the second part of the 1910’s – when he started to emphasize such principles as moderation, composure, dispassion and non-desire in his writing. I also discuss other important ideals which Ekelund shared with the Taoist philosophers, such as poverty, humility, simplicity and dishonour. Finally, I see a parallel in the anti-intellectual aspects of Taoist thinking and Ekelund’s use of the term misologi (misology), a word which often has positive connotations in his works. In Ekelund’s prose, as well as in the famous Taoist text Tao Te Ching, excessive intellectualism is frequently criticized.</p
Kristina och Kristina : En komparativ analys av persongestaltningen i Vilhelm Mobergs Utvandrarserie och musikalen Kristina från Duvemåla
No full textSince 1995 the musical Kristina från Duvemåla has been performed on many national theatre stages in Sweden and is still obtaining success and fame. It is based on novels by the famous Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg, Utvandrarna (1949), Invandrarna (1952), Nybyggarna (1956) and Sista brevet till Sverige (1959) that revolve around a Swedish family emigrating to the United Stated during the 19th century. This thesis investigates both the novels and the musical adaptation in a comparative way. Theory of adaptation and intermediality is used to analyse differences and similiarities of the stories used in the novels and the musical. It can be assumed that major changes were implemented in the adaptation of the main characters, specifically Kristina. According to that a shift in importance and variations in characteristics of the main characters appeared in the musical. Since the musical is named after the character Kristina who is moreover the key figure in the overall scenic performances, it leads to the conclusion that there exist major shifts in importance of content structures. For the analysis, individually chosen scenes are investigated in comparison with the novel contents as well as certain musical songs and dialogues. It can be ascertained that Kristina’s role in the musical has changed significantly in comparison to the novels by Vilhelm Moberg. The results do make contributions to the applied analysis of media adaptations in literary studies and musicology and might state an example for further analysis of adaptations.Kristina und Kristina ist eine vergleichende literaturwissenschaftliche Analyse der Auswandererromane Vilhelm Mobergs und dem Musical Kristina från Duvemåla. Bei den Werken Vilhelm Mobergs, die als Grundlage für diese Arbeit dienen, handelt es sich um Utvandrarna – Die Auswanderer (1949), Invandrarna – In der neuen Welt (1952), Nybyggarna – Die Siedler (1956), Sista brevet till Sverige (1959) – Der letzte Brief nach Schweden. Vergleichend dazu wird das Manuskript des Musicals Kristina från Duvemåla aus dem Jahr 2012 untersucht, insbesondere dessen Liedtexte, Szenendialoge sowie Monologe. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, mithilfe einer komparativen Analyse der vier Romane und des Musicals, mögliche Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede festzustellen. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf dem Hauptcharakter Kristina, welche im Vergleich zu den anderen Hauptcharakteren Karl Oskar, Robert und Ulrika bedeutend häufiger im Musical auftritt. Für die Textanalyse werden besonders Linda Hutcheons A Theory of Adaptation (2006) und Hans Lunds Intermedialitet. Ord, bild och ton i samspel (2002) genutzt. Es werden ausgewählte Episoden aus dem Musical mit den Inhalten der vier Romane Mobergs verglichen. Auf Grund des limitierten Umfangs der Arbeit ist nur eine begrenzte Betrachtung der Primärquellen möglich. Die szenische Darstellung erhält keinen Einzug in die Analyse. Bei der musikalischen Umsetzung der Romane im Musical erfolgt eine Betrachtung an ausgewählten Beispielen. Nach der vergleichenden Textanalyse beider Werke ist festzustellen, dass es sich um eine gelungene Adaption handelt, da nur bei genauer Betrachtung einzelner Episoden aus dem Musical Unterschiede zu den ursprünglichen Romanen deutlich werden. Zudem ist das Musical inhaltlich sehr nah an Mobergs Auswandererromanen angelegt. Notwendige Anpassungen, wie Kürzungen und Zusammenfassungen von Episoden aus den Romanen, sowie eine Fokussierung auf die wichtigsten Geschehnisse sind ebenfalls zu verzeichnen. Die These, dass Kristina im Musical anders dargestellt wird als in den Büchern Vilhelm Mobergs, kann durch die genaue Textanalyse bestätigt werden. Während die Figur Kristina in den Romanen eher eine zurückhaltende, vorsichtige und schüchterne Rolle einnimmt, wird sie im Musical als eine mutige, direkte und starke Frau dargestellt und wahrgenommen. Bis heute erfreut sich das Musical Kristina från Duvemåla in Schweden größter Beliebtheit und dies nicht nur aufgrund der gelungenen Umsetzung der Auswandererromane Vilhelm Mobergs, sondern auch dank der musikalischen Inszenierung durch Benny Andersson und der stilvollen Liedtexte Björn Ulvaeus‘
Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textThomas Sjösvärd, Division of Language and Literature at the School of Education, Culture and Communication at Mälardalen University “The Flight of the Ice Bird. Sparta and Alcman in the Works of Vilhelm Ekelund and Karin Boye” (Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye) Since antiquity, the image of the Greek city-state Sparta has been a source of inspiration for a variety of writers, partly due to its associations with militarism and male strength. Nevertheless, the archaic Spartan poet Alcman’s songs seem to express opposite values, such as femininity and vulnerability. One example is his so-called Halcyon fragment, where the aged poetic self dreams of being carried away across the water by female birds. A translation of the poem appears in the modernist author Karin Boye’s poetry collection För trädets skull [For the Sake of the Tree] from 1935. The work comprises translations of other authors of different eras. Boye adheres to a poetics based on elective friendships, supposedly enabling historically remote authors to meet across ideological and cultural boundaries. The inclusion of Alcman’s poem can be seen as a reply to Vilhelm Ekelund, an important influence of Boyes, since the Halcyon-bird had been an important motif for Ekelund from the 1900s onwards. By tracing both Ekelund’s and Boye’s relationship to Sparta, this article examines Boye’s critical appropriation of Ekelundian imagery. With Jacques Rancière’s dichotomy between mimesis and literature as a point of departure, the analysis explores a tension within the literary text, as either producing role models or objects of interpretation. Reading Ekelund from this perspective sheds new light on the purpose that his “ancient ideals” and misogyny serves to his writing. It is particularly relevant for the understanding of the much-discussed turn his writing underwent when he abandoned traditional poetry. Boye’s attitude towards Ekelund and references to Sparta, both in her novels and her poetry, shows her concern with the paradoxes of vulnerability and strength. This development culminates in her last collection of poems where a central theme is flight—an ambiguous word, as it can refer to both flying and fleeing.</p
Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye
No full textThomas Sjösvärd, Division of Language and Literature at the School of Education, Culture and Communication at Mälardalen University “The Flight of the Ice Bird. Sparta and Alcman in the Works of Vilhelm Ekelund and Karin Boye” (Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye) Since antiquity, the image of the Greek city-state Sparta has been a source of inspiration for a variety of writers, partly due to its associations with militarism and male strength. Nevertheless, the archaic Spartan poet Alcman’s songs seem to express opposite values, such as femininity and vulnerability. One example is his so-called Halcyon fragment, where the aged poetic self dreams of being carried away across the water by female birds. A translation of the poem appears in the modernist author Karin Boye’s poetry collection För trädets skull [For the Sake of the Tree] from 1935. The work comprises translations of other authors of different eras. Boye adheres to a poetics based on elective friendships, supposedly enabling historically remote authors to meet across ideological and cultural boundaries. The inclusion of Alcman’s poem can be seen as a reply to Vilhelm Ekelund, an important influence of Boyes, since the Halcyon-bird had been an important motif for Ekelund from the 1900s onwards. By tracing both Ekelund’s and Boye’s relationship to Sparta, this article examines Boye’s critical appropriation of Ekelundian imagery. With Jacques Rancière’s dichotomy between mimesis and literature as a point of departure, the analysis explores a tension within the literary text, as either producing role models or objects of interpretation. Reading Ekelund from this perspective sheds new light on the purpose that his “ancient ideals” and misogyny serves to his writing. It is particularly relevant for the understanding of the much-discussed turn his writing underwent when he abandoned traditional poetry. Boye’s attitude towards Ekelund and references to Sparta, both in her novels and her poetry, shows her concern with the paradoxes of vulnerability and strength. This development culminates in her last collection of poems where a central theme is flight—an ambiguous word, as it can refer to both flying and fleeing
Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye
No full textThomas Sjösvärd, Division of Language and Literature at the School of Education, Culture and Communication at Mälardalen University “The Flight of the Ice Bird. Sparta and Alcman in the Works of Vilhelm Ekelund and Karin Boye” (Isfågelns flykt. Sparta och Alkman hos Vilhelm Ekelund och Karin Boye) Since antiquity, the image of the Greek city-state Sparta has been a source of inspiration for a variety of writers, partly due to its associations with militarism and male strength. Nevertheless, the archaic Spartan poet Alcman’s songs seem to express opposite values, such as femininity and vulnerability. One example is his so-called Halcyon fragment, where the aged poetic self dreams of being carried away across the water by female birds. A translation of the poem appears in the modernist author Karin Boye’s poetry collection För trädets skull [For the Sake of the Tree] from 1935. The work comprises translations of other authors of different eras. Boye adheres to a poetics based on elective friendships, supposedly enabling historically remote authors to meet across ideological and cultural boundaries. The inclusion of Alcman’s poem can be seen as a reply to Vilhelm Ekelund, an important influence of Boyes, since the Halcyon-bird had been an important motif for Ekelund from the 1900s onwards. By tracing both Ekelund’s and Boye’s relationship to Sparta, this article examines Boye’s critical appropriation of Ekelundian imagery. With Jacques Rancière’s dichotomy between mimesis and literature as a point of departure, the analysis explores a tension within the literary text, as either producing role models or objects of interpretation. Reading Ekelund from this perspective sheds new light on the purpose that his “ancient ideals” and misogyny serves to his writing. It is particularly relevant for the understanding of the much-discussed turn his writing underwent when he abandoned traditional poetry. Boye’s attitude towards Ekelund and references to Sparta, both in her novels and her poetry, shows her concern with the paradoxes of vulnerability and strength. This development culminates in her last collection of poems where a central theme is flight—an ambiguous word, as it can refer to both flying and fleeing
To work with Vilhelm Moberg and his literature in schools in his native Småland
No full textThe aim of this this study is to investigate how different schools in the region Småland in Sweden work with the author Vilhelm Moberg and his literature. The aim is also to see wich aspects are central in the teaching of Moberg. Seven teachers have been interviewed and asked about how they teach about Moberg. The results schow that the novel The Emigrants is the most popular amongst Moberg's books when it comes to education and that Moberg is important in the schools of Småland, because of this connection to region and what he wrote about Swedish emigration. All of the teachers use different strategies when it comes to reading Mobergs's works and some of them take the pupils to the areas where Moberg was born. Most of the teachers also show the pupils a film based on one of Moberg's books. The results also show that there is no big difference between lower secondary school adn upper secondary school in how they teash about Moberg, but there is a difference in how much each teacher works with the author
Springs and Puddles Critical Perspectives and Literary Ideals in Vilhelm Ekelund’s Böcker och vandringar (1923)
No full textThis essay examines the critical perspectives and literary ideals of the author Vilhelm Ekelund (1880–1949) as they are indicated in the texts of his book Böcker och vandringar. Från Studie-år i Tyskland (1923). The essay’s examination is inspired by the function of valuing from theories of literature criticism, while keeping in mind the meta-character of much of Ekelund’s writing. The results suggest that Ekelund saw literature as an artform not to be sold as a mere merchandise on a market; the author is not a producer as much as an artistic creator. The results further suggest that Ekelund held an ambivalent attitude towards poetry as a genre at the time of writing the texts; that he valued classical and classicistic literature but could also value literature from the romantic tradition; that he valued clear and short writing rather than adorned prose or poetry. The most important feature of literature is its connection to life itself. Ekelund despised literary critics of his day. He himself wrote about literature, but not as a mere reporting of what had been written: he continues writing in a dialogue with the literary works. Finally, Ekelund has a pronounced elitist side to him that scorns philistines that merely show off literary interests. True artists do not write for large audiences, but for few readers. Widespread success can suggest bad literature
To work with Vilhelm Moberg and his literature in schools in his native Småland
No full textThe aim of this this study is to investigate how different schools in the region Småland in Sweden work with the author Vilhelm Moberg and his literature. The aim is also to see wich aspects are central in the teaching of Moberg. Seven teachers have been interviewed and asked about how they teach about Moberg. The results schow that the novel The Emigrants is the most popular amongst Moberg's books when it comes to education and that Moberg is important in the schools of Småland, because of this connection to region and what he wrote about Swedish emigration. All of the teachers use different strategies when it comes to reading Mobergs's works and some of them take the pupils to the areas where Moberg was born. Most of the teachers also show the pupils a film based on one of Moberg's books. The results also show that there is no big difference between lower secondary school adn upper secondary school in how they teash about Moberg, but there is a difference in how much each teacher works with the author
»Skolefrihed«. Eckhard Bodenstein: Skolefrihed in Dänemark - Studien zur Entstehung eines schulpolitischen Prinzips. Mit dänischer Zusammenfassung
No full textFreedom of Education in Denmark - Studies in the Origin of a Principle of Educational Policy. Tønder 1962 (photocopy), by Eckhard BodensteinReviewed by Vilhelm NielsenThe author of this book is a lecturer at the Educational College in Flensburg, and he considers how it came about that Denmark has a law on “ compulsory education” and not “ compulsory schooling” . None of the countries with which Denmark is traditionally compared have such clear laws on the subject.That this has something to do with Grundtvig and the grundtvigian movement is generally recognised; but Bodenstein sets about deflating this “myth” or “ legend” through a scholarly examination of the facts. The main result is that it is neither Grundtvig nor the grundtvigians but instead J. N. Madvig - “the Latin professor” - who is the chief architect of the formulation and passing of the bill of May 2nd 1855, “the first free school law” , as it is called. Madvig was not a grundtvigian but a conservative-liberal. He wanted to make the 1849 constitution work, and he was a sincere supporter of the principles and ideas encoded in it, including the rights of parents against the state on the question of their children’s upbringing and education. He mastered the art of politics much better than the grundtvigians and was able to draft a bill that could be passed by both the lower and the upper chambers. In 1850-55 nobody in Denmark had much parliamentary experience or training, the political groupings were very loose, and the main interest was centred on the war and foreign relations. The passage of the school bill may seem faltering and confused; but it is here that Madvig’s clarity and consistency come into their own. For an understanding of his importance for the passing of the law it is now impossible to ignore Bodenstein’s conclusions.Another question, however, is whether this law is in fact of such crucial significance. Is it really a “ free school law” , and is it here that the distinction between “ compulsory education” and “ compulsory schooling” is drawn?Points against this are 1) It does not abolish the first school bill from 1814, 2) It is concerned with home education, not free schools or private schools, 3) the subsequent control of home education entails in practice just as many problems as the previous authorization had sought to achieve, 4) the law omits to mention what has persuaded people, especially on Funen, to make use of the opportunities for establishing free schools both before and after 1855.But here Madvig’s principles and conceptual clarity are not enough. And this goes to some extent for Bodenstein as well. The driving force behind the development is not abstract principles. A parliamentary debate and a law and its administration over a number of years may possibly crystallize into principles and concepts, but the question is whether one does not thereby follow a false scent and miss the essential. In his relentless demand for “conceptual analysis” Bodenstein lacks “distance” to his own concepts and to the reforming pædagogics of our century.The reviewer is not a legal expert but an educationist, and this book deals with one particular legal text. As a civil servant in the Ministry of Education he has acquired much respect for the knowledge of legal experts and would have preferred a jurist to review the book. With this reservation, however, the following can be established:1. The 1814 bill aimed at compulsory schooling but also opened up the possibility of home education. There was no intention of destroying or hindering the activities of private tutors out in the country engaged by persons whofor the most part were prosperous and well-educated. The law thus contained a “ subsidiary principle” , (alternative principle).2. Paragraph 90 of the 1849 constitution turns this on its head. According to the wording, compulsory schooling becomes subsidiary to the parents’ home education. Madvig feels himself duty-bound to this principle and builds on it. Compulsory education is thereby introduced in principle instead of compulsory schooling.3. The bill of May 2nd 1855 can be regarded as a kind of clarifying measure; but it does not repeal the 1814 law, it merely sets up a subsequent supervision instead of a preceding approval of home education. There is much evidence to support Grundtvig’s claim that it could all have been managed administratively. A new bill was unnecessary.4. With some experience as a private tutor to the children of several different families Christen Kold founded a free school in 1852 at Dalby on Funen with 16-20 children, rising to 60-65 in 1855. Preparations for the founding of other schools on Funen were also well under way.On the basis of these “layman’s considerations” Vilhelm Nielsen questions whether the bill of May 2nd 1855 was of such great importance for the problem of compulsory education vis-a-vis compulsory schooling as to be able to defend it as the first free school law. One must especially protest against Bodenstein’s calling the law “ creative” in contrast to most of the other laws, which he calls “ registering” . The free school supporters did not think in principles and concepts but in individual children and peasants in difficulties.Economic motives play a major role in the parliamentary debate in various “petitions” from outside; but Vilhelm Nielsen considers it neither reasonable nor well-founded to regard Grundtvig or the “grundtvigians” ’ argument for the educational advantages of the move as an ideological superstructure over what was in fact an economic demand. Grundtvig really did believe that everyone, including the gifted, should learn to use their hands, not for economic, but for educational reasons (cf. Open Letter to My Children and To My Two Sons). Bodenstein’s mistake at this point is tofail to distinguish between the grundtvigians and the friends of the peasants.The reviewer finds it strange that Bodenstein does not refer to Andreas Austlid’s Christen Kold (3rd ed. 1951) when he makes use of an unpublished biography of Hass, who was linked with Kold. Bodenstein may be right in seeing the literature on the free schools as uncritical and legendary: at a scholarly level it is a neglected area. But then nor is a point-by-point analysis of a parliamentary debate particularly comprehensive.Apart from his parliamentary speeches the only Grundtvig texts which appear in the bibliography are Grundtvig1's Educational World in Texts and Extracts by K. E. Bugge. Without insight and empathy a modern scholar can hardly understand much of Grundtvig. But according to Bodenstein Grundtvig research in the last few decades has lacked “the critical, spiritual distance to Grundtvig and Kold” . However, it is the reviewer’s impression that precious few Grundtvig scholars would call themselves grundtvigians. The poetic and the mysterious is a more powerful magnet than the transparent. But it is to be hoped that the author will one day discover that Grundtvig is not an antiintellectual, even though he places imagination and feeling above reason. But everything aims at a rational clarification in the end
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