SOURCE: "Erik Johan Stagnelius: The Old Norse Element as a Vehicle for Romanticism," in The Old Norse Element in Swedish Romanticism, Columbia University Press, 1914, pp. 125-43.

In the following essay, Benson examines various ways in which Stagnelius combined elements of Scandinavian mythology and ancient Hellenic drama in expressing Romantic themes.

The most thorough Romanticist in Sweden was the young and suffering Stagnelius. Both his life and work point him out as the natural exponent of what is deepest and most typical in Romanticism. He did not have to affiliate himself with any new school to be called Romantic. He did not have to take part in any polemics to advertise his theories. Stagnelius was something more than an obscure theorist; he was primarily a creator. He loved to produce and what he produced came spontaneously, without undue effort or adherence to any set literary dogma. He was always...