Matthías Jochumsson was a poet of remarkable breadth and technical talent who possessed a profound knowledge of the literature and history of his nation, both ancient and modern. He was respected, if less critically acclaimed, as a playwright. His undimmed reputation as one of the foremost translators from English, German, and the Scandinavian languages rests on his renditions of works by dramatist William Shakespeare; poet George Gordon, Lord Byron; playwright Henrik Ibsen; poet Esaias Tegnér; and novelist Zacharias Topelius. Matthías's was a life of serious difficulty in its early decades; a nervous condition and frequent experience of loss through death provoked crises of depression. Though religious by inclination, he was often beset by religious doubts, perhaps especially after taking holy orders.

In Skáldid á Sigurhædum (1963), Gudmundur Hannesson, a friend of Matthías in later life, related a...