Icelandic literature
The Icelandic literature includes literary works created in Iceland from the time the island was settled to the present day. The Codex Regius has made it possible to recover its oldest manifestations, which are heroic and mythological poems, called Eddas. The sagas of the Icelanders are also of great antiquity.
History
9th century
From the 9th century to the XIII a type of poetry different from the Eddas was developed in Iceland, called skaldic, of Norwegian origin, which used alliteration, internal rhyme and a series of periphrases and metaphors that obscured its understanding. Among the poets who cultivated this modality are Bragi Boddason, Egill Skallagrímsson, Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld and Sigvatr Þórðarson. The most popular genre in Iceland from the 11th century to the XV was the saga. It consists of biographies of heroes who were often kings of Norway, Iceland, or legendary Germanic heroes whose deeds took place between the 4th centuries and VIII.
14th century
Starting in the 14th century, a decline can be seen in Icelandic literature: translations of foreign works exceed those of original creation; the literature of the previous centuries turns into fantastic dreams; Courtly poetry and romances of chivalry begin to interest them.
In lyric a new type of narrative poem is born, called rímur, composed of four-line stanzas with a rhyme at the end of the line. This poetic form remained popular until the end of the 19th century. In it, Einar Gilson stood out with his poem Olafsrima. The diktur or religious poems composed between the XIII century and the XVI, among which stands out Lilja, by Eysteinn Asgrímsson.
The religious reform brought about a change in the literary panorama, since the church took over the monopoly of the printing press, with which only works of a religious nature could be published. The main poet of this period was Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of Hólar and author of religious poems such as Pislargrátr and Ljómur. Translations of the Bible, of hymns and religious poems from other languages, encompassed all literary production.
17th century
The 17th century presented three fundamental features: promotion of erudition, orthodox criteria in religious matters and superstition among the people. The best poet was Hallgrímur Pétursson, author of the collection of religious hymns Passiusalmar.
Olafsson, Arngrímur Jónsson also stood out, who was a great stimulus for literary research, and Jón Magnússon, who in Pislar Saga exposes the unjust persecution of witches, given that it is a accusation by Magnússon that he believed to have been a victim of witchcraft.
18th century
The 18th century was marked by the ideals of the Enlightenment, of which Eggert Ólafsson and Magnús Stephensen were the maximum exponents. Translations of European classics increased, to which the poet and scholar Jón Porláksson contributed his work. The best examples of prose from the XVIII century can be found in Húspostilla or collection of sermons of the Bishop Jón Vidalín.
19th century
In the first decades of the XIX century, a new romantic movement was formed, led by the poets Bjarni Thorarensen and especially Jónas Hallgrimsson. This trend was followed by Benedikt Gröndal, author of Sagan af Heljarslódarorustu, Steingrímur Thorsteinsson and Matthías Jochumsson, author of Grettisljód.
As continuators of the original line of rimur were the so-called peasant poets: Sigurdur Breiðfjiord, attacked by the romantic Jónas Hallgrímsson for his Tristans rimur, and the author of Umkvörtum, Hjálmar Jonsson. In the decade of the 1880s, and under the influence of Georg Brandes, romanticism gave way to the realist current.
20th century
It can be said that the poetry of the first half of the XX century has been dominated by two poets: Davíð Stefánsson, author of Svartar fjadrir, and Steinn Steinarr, who introduced the technique of free verse and whose poetry Raudur loginn brann is heavily influenced by surrealism. Within this century, the poets Einar Benediktsson, Magnús Stefansson, Sigurður Ivarsson, Thomas Guðmundsson and Jón Helgason stood out. Modern prose begins with two novels by Jón Thoroddsen, currently considered masterpieces: Piltur og Stúlka (Boy and Girl) and Madur og Kona (Man and Woman)..
Nordic influences in the literature of the XX century manifested themselves in the novels of Jón Trausti, Gunnar Gunnarsson and Guðmundur Hagalín. Halldór Laxness, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955, was influenced by French impressionism and socialist tendencies, as can be seen in his works Atomic Station and The Icelandic Bell . Another very important author of the 20th century is Þórbergur Þórðarson, author mainly of essays and autobiographical literature.
Of later generations of novelists include O. J. Sigurðsson, author of Skuggarnir á bænum, Agnar Thódrarson, author of Hannin galar tvisar, V. Ludviksson, Thor Vilhjálmsson, Guðbergur Bergsson, author of Svanurinn (The Swan), Tómas Jónsson, metsölubók (Tómas Jónsson, best seller) or Sú kvalda ást sem hugarfylgsnin geyma (Hard love) and Arnaldur Indriðason with detective novels such as Arctic winter.
20th century theater
In the theater of the XX century, Jóhann Sigurjónsson, Guðmundur Kamban, author of Hadda-Padda, deserve special mention and Davíð Stefansson. Theater is the genre in which fewer figures have emerged, with the exception of Jokull Jakobsson. However, the field of poetry and narrative continue to be the most prominent. As for poetry, the names of Jóhannes úr Kötlumm, Jón Óskar, S. Hördur Grímsson, Hannes Pétursson and þorsteinn fra Hamri stand out. In the seventies it is worth consigning the contribution of poets and novelists such as Pétur Gunnarsson and Þórarinn Eldjarn.
In recent decades, novelists, prose writers, and poets have emerged such as Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Gyrdir Elíasson, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Ólafur Gunnarsson, Einar Már Guðmundsson, Hallgrímur Helgason, Hermann Stefánsson, Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl, and several others. Literature today in Iceland is characterized by a lot of variety and a large number of authors publishing their works. The state of Iceland grants writers scholarships for writing, a system that has been part of the literary reality in Iceland since the 1990s.
Awards
Halldór Laxness received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955.
In 1962 the Nordic Council Prize for Literature began, which Icelandic writers have won seven times as of 2014. These are Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson in 1976, Snorri Hjartarson in 1981, Thor Vilhjálmsson in 1988, Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir in 1992, Einar Már Guðmundsson in 1995, Sjón in 2005 and Gyrðir Elíasson in 2011.
Starting in 1989, the Icelandic Literature Prize began to be awarded. Guðbergur Bergsson is the only author to have received it twice.