Lögberg - 30.07.1936, Blaðsíða 9

LÖGBERG, FIMTUDAGINN 30. JÚLl, 1936
9
Iceland's “Poet Laur-
eate,,
By
Professor Richard Beck, Ph.D.
(University of North Dakota)
Ever since the days of the
skalds of old Iceland has been a
land of poets. Down through the
centuries the artistic urge of its
people has, until recent years,
primarily found expression in
lyric poetry. This still flourishes
abundantly in Iceland, despite the
growing favor of other literary
forms—the novel, the short storv,
the drama, and the essay.
Iceland glories today in a con-
siderable’ group of genuinely gift-
ed lyric poets. Of these Einar
Benediktsson is' justly regarded
as the greatest, the uncrowned
“p°et laureate” of his countrv.
October 31, 1934, he celebrated
his seventieth birthday. On this
occasion he was paid a deserved
tribute by his countrymen at
home and abroad.
Benediktsson’s life has been
eventful far beyond the ordinary.
He was born at Ellidavatn in the
south-west of Iceland, the son of
a richly endowed and influential
political leader jand an equally
brilliant mother. After graduat-
ing from the College of Iceland
in 1884, he studied law at the
University of Copenhagen, receiv-
ing his degree in 1892. He edited
a newspaper in Reykjavik, 1896-
1898, practiced law for the next
six years, and served as a district
judge of Rangarvallasysla, in
southern Iceland, 1904-1907. Since
then he has travelled extensively
and spent a great deal of his time
abroad. He has interested him-
self in various business enter-
prises and in politics; his most
lastingi achievements are, how-
ever, in the field of literature, his
lyric poems constituting the
high water-mark of present day
Icelandic poetry. He has also
written a few well told short
stories, as well as noteworthy es-
says and sketches; these form,
nevertheless, a minor part of his
literarv work/
A productive writer, Benedikts-
son has published five important
collections of original poetry. He
is also a very able translator, hav-
ing successfully rendered into his
native Icelandic such famous
poems as Poe’s “The Raven,”
Gray’s “Elegy in a Countrv
Churchyard,” and Fitzgerald’s
“Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam.”
His most significant work in the
field of translations is Ibsen’s
Peer Gynt, generally speaking re-
markably well done.
Benediktsson has cast his net
wide—he is easily the most trav-
eled of modern Icelandic poets—
and the variety of his themes is
commensurate with the vastness
of his literary domain. His ex-
periences and observations in
many lands are frequently and
strikingly manifested in his
poetry.
He describes graphically, and
with penetrating insight, an eve-
ning in Rome, with the Tiber
flowing leisurely to the sea,
“slowly like the march of time”;
a storm on Lake Trasimenus, un-
der a moon “pale as the face of
Hastrubal”; the Cathedral of Mil-
an, where “the echo of silent
prayers lingiers in the chancel.”
Equally vividly and profoundly
He pictures St. Helena and the
fate of Napoleon. The poet walks
the banks of the Thames and the
^eine, and from that vantage
point paints unforgettable, grip-
Plng pictuses of life in London
and Paris. In eight lines, en-
titled “Bv Zudersee,” Holland
is masterfully portrayed. The
g>gantic machines of our day, in
fact the machine age itself, are
described with telling force in a
poem about the factories in New-
castle - on - Tyne. Clearlv, Bene-
diktsson is endowed with keen
observation and great descriptive
power, and these are among his
most outstanding characteristics.
C osmopolitan and eclectic as he
is, he is none the less fundamen-
tally and vigorously national. He
delights in writing on Icelandic
subjects. Here again he excels
in nature descriptions. He has
pictured Iceland with its impres-
sive scenic contrasts, in its var-
ied seasonal garb^ affectionately
and memorably. And nowhere is
his unusual artistry as a painter
in words seen to a better advan-
tage than in some of these poems.
His description of natural pheno-
mena become, moreover, not in-
frequently symbolic of human life
and conditions. Thus he has in-
terpreted Iceland, its past and its
future, to his countrymen in
poems destined to live long. Ile
has also drawn clear-cut and re-
freshingly original word pictures
of a number of the great men in
the literary and cultural history
of Iceland, from Egill Skalla-
grimsson, the great poet of the
tenth century, to Bjorn Gunn-
laugsson, the poet and the astron-
omer of the nineteenth century.
.It is likewise worth mentioning
that Benediktsson has written
many directly patriotic poems,
which have grown out of his
abiding interest in the progress of
his country, notably his deep in-
terest and active participation -in
the struggle of his nation for
political independence. Often
such poems of his are vigorous
attacks on existing conditions, a
ringing challenge to action. Tn
short, his love of Iceland and the
Tcelandic cultural heritage, to-
I gether with his deep-rooted faith
in the future and the mission of
his people, are written large
everywhere in his poems.
Benediktsson has been referred
to as an Icelandic Browning, and
not without reason. His poems,
even the descriptive ones, are rich
in philosophic thought expressed
in lofty style. Here in a degree,
and more prominently in his sev-
eral more purely philosophical
poems, he grapples with the deep-
est problems of human existence.
He is a good deal of a mystic.
monistic and pantheistic in his
view of life, profoundly conscious
of its unity and continuitv, its
common source of life-giving en-
ergy and its powers of renewal.
To him a soul appears imprisoned
in the dewdrop upon a blade of
grass. Independent of traditional
interpretation of religion, he is
deeply religious, and extols the
blessing of true faith and the
spirit of sacrifice; “The temples
of God are the believing hearts,
though they be without shelter.’
Benediktsson is, therefore, not
a personal poet; his own feelings
enter comparatively little into his
poems. Blind passions do not
surge through them like rushing
streams. His poetry is much
more notable for its intellectual
thán for its emotional quality.
And this intellectual approach,
combinecl with the philosophical
themes, tends to make his poems
obscure in the opinion of a good
many readers. Mental effort is
indeed needed to retrace his
thoughts and see revealed to one
his great visions and his far-flung
vistas.
His poems bear the stamp of
originality in style as well as in
the treatment of his themes. They
abound in striking and varied
similes. Generally his dignified
verseforms are also of his own
invention; and although they
sometimes lack lightness of touch
and smoothness, they are as a rule
a fit vehicle for the subject mat-
ter. In a famous poem he bril-
liantly reproduces, metrically, the
hoof-beats of a horse upon the
frozen ground. He has as great
faith in the expressiveness of his
native tongue, which he has eulo-
gized with fond affection, as he
has in the future and the mission
of the Icelandic people; nor has
this faith of his in the richness
and the flexibility of the Icelandic
language been put to shame, sev-
erely as he has tested it. His
vocabulary is nothing short of
astounding, keeping pace with his
wealth of ideas.
Equal to Benediktsson’s de-
mands upon his poetical genius,
is his reverence for the sanctity of
his art; its realms is to him a
sacred temple; the ignoble and
the insignificant have no place
within its precinct. His poetry is
purity itself. He has never cheap-
ened his art by catering unduly
to fluctuating popular taste, or
lack of taste.
The influence of Benediktsson
is already traceable in the works
of the younger Icelandic poets, to
tlie extent that he may be said to
have founded “a school.” With-
out attempting to imitate him,
they may profitably set before
them his ideal: — to enrich Ice-
landic literature with new themes
conceived on a grand scale, ad-
hering at the same time to the
characteristically Icelandic pre-
cision of form.
Benediktsson’s individuality in
thought, expression, and approach
to his subject matter make his
poems extremely difficult to
translate. The following transla-
tion of “Northern Lights,” a
much admired poem of his, bv
Mrs. Jakobina Johnson of Seattle,
nevertheless, gives some idea of
his lyric genius—his descriptive
power, the sweep of his thought,
and his penetration;
“Was ever a vision to mortals
sent
Like Northern Lights in the
heavens flaming?
The shoreline a golden archway
framing.
Who is at drinking and cards
content ?
The earth lies serene and on sleep
intent
Under .a cover of roses decaying,
Rare colors the grains of sand
present.
Where waters meet, there is silver
spraying.
The north is aglow with an ornate
show
Of borealis’ displaying.
From the seventh heav’n to the
ocean’s rim,
The sun holds a dance with the
curtain lifted.
And white-capped billows of light
are shifted,
Then break on a strand of
shadows dim.
An unseen hand directs at its
whim
This glittering round of stréamers
flowing.
To regions of light from the
darkness grim,
All earth-life now turns with
fervor growing,
And a crystal gaze on the glowing
haze
The hoary cliffs are bestowing.
How base seems the issues and
trifling the call
That claims our life—or we strive
denying.
Let mortals attack me with hatred
defying,—
I now feel at peace with each
creature small.
So fair and immense is the vault
over all—
And smiling the stars—though
our hopes be arrested.
The mind goes soaring, no heights
appall,
Divine is the power through the
dust manifested!
We fathom our strength—our
rights are at length
In the kingdom of light attested.
How mighty an ocean the heavens
bright—
And brave the vessels attempting
the sailing.
A haven they seek, with courage
unfailing,
Whether they swerve, or their
course holds right.
But none have beheld Him who
gave us sight,
Nor shown us the‘ source of these
marvels abiding.
At the door of His temple, this
glorious night,
In homage they pray from their
hearts confiding.
But vainly thev wait—for locked
is each gate.
And silent the spirit presiding.”
FerÖamenn, sem verið hafa í
ítalíu að undanförnu, hafa undrast
þaí5 hvað mikil áfengislykt er á
götum borganna. Nú hafa þeir
komist að raun um hvernig á þessu
stendur. Vegna refsiaðgerbanna
hafa ítalir veriÖ í vandræðum meS
olíu og bensín. Og til þess a'Ö geta
haldið uppi bílaferðum innanlands
fundu þeir upp á því að drýgja
bensínið á þann hátt að blanda það
til helminga með vínanda.
Come In
Out of the Heat!
When the heat waves dance on the
pavements and all outdoor down-
town is stifling—step into the door at
Eaton’s—it’s like a cool new world.
Everyone is remarking on our new
Comfort Cooling System. Before the
air is blown through these floors it is
washed and cooled by water pump-
ed frorn the cold, cold limestone
depths of the new well. You’ll like
our climate.
Shopping
S e r v i c e
Our shoppers have a remarkable
store of ideas and facts at their
finger tips—from a knowledge
of what’s new and snappy in
bridge prizes, to information
about when all trains leave, and
the best way of shipping supplies
to Summer camp.
Their service in shopping for
camp supplies—daily, weekly, or
occasionally—keeps Eaton values
within your reach while you’re
out of town.
Mail, telephone or bring your
orders and instructions to—
The Shopping Service, Sixth Floor, Portage
Playground
On-the-Roof
More fascinating than ever this
year — there’s a new “teeter-
totter car” and new swings, as
well as the popular slide and
sandpile. An indoor playroom
is ready for rainy days and
part of the outdoor section is
s h a d e d, so that youngsters
needn’t be in the very hot sun
too long.
Children, 3 years old or over,
play here in charge of capable
attendants — any time from
8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays
and 8.30 to 12.30 Saturdays.
To reach the Playground take
one of the Donald Street eleva-
tors facing the centre of the
store.
Delivery
Service to the
out once each week day to Mat-
lock, Whytewold, P o n e m a h,
Winnipeg Beach, Boundary Park
and Sandy Hook. This service
will c o n t i n u e until further
notice.
Purchases you wish sent out on
one of these deliveries must be
made a day previous — for in-
stance, a bathing suit that is to
be delivered to the beach on
Friday must be bought before
5.30 p.m. Thursday.