Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/406

388 wrote, for nowhere else did his peculiar talent find a better opportunity of blossoming in a natural and splendid manner than in the three addresses of the old preacher, which constitute the main part of the poem. It is a masterly production marked by a deep, earnest, religious sentiment, and abounding in graceful descriptions of natural scenery.

The enthusiasm of the public increased when, in 1820, the narrative poem, "Axel," appeared, which is somewhat sentimental, but very rich in beautiful lyric episodes. It is prefaced with an exquisite dedicatory poem to Leopold. The public enthusiasm reached its climax, however, in 1825, on the publication of "Frithjofs Saga," the first cantos of which had previously been printed in the "Iduna." This cycle of romances, which in form is a gem of beauty, and the contents of which are taken from an Old Norse saga of the same name, became Tegnér's most celebrated work, and is probably the most famous Scandinavian production. It has been trans- lated into nearly every European tongue. Besides his greater, but unfinished works, "Gerda " and "Kronbruden," we may mention "Karl XII," "Epilog vid magisterpromotionen 1826," and "Sång till Solen " (Hymn to the sun) as the best among his numerous short poems.

In the last years of his life Tegnér was afflicted with a hereditary mental malady, and was obliged to remain for a long time in a lunatic asylum. When he left it he had sufficiently recovered the use of his mind to be able to resume his official duties, but his bodily health was broken, and he died on the 2d of November, 1846.

The most prominent feature of Tegnér's poetry is his splendid rhetoric, and the exuberant gorgeousness of his imagery. The eloquence he displayed from the pulpit, from the professor's chair, and on many special occasions, we meet with again in his poems, many of which are simply speeches in verse. This marked rhetorical character of his poems was