C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
G. R. Lomer, ed. The Student’s Course in Literature.
A College Curriculum in Literature: Scandinavian Literature
By Gerhard Richard Lomer (1882–1970)
66. Introduction to the Literature of Norway
Not only for its significance in the comparative study of world literature but also for its high intrinsic merit does the literature of Norway deserve the attention and esteem of the modern student of literature. This course is sufficient to give the reader a general knowledge of the great writers, their masterpieces, aims, and literary technique. It brings him into touch with such outstanding figures in modern literature as Björnson and Ibsen whose influence can be traced everywhere in European literature.
Reading:Welhaven; Asbjørnsen; Ibsen; Björnson; Lie; Boyesen; Kielland; Garborg; Nansen.
The influence of Sweden upon the literature of modern Europe is felt in such widely different subjects as religion, fiction, poetry, and drama. The student is introduced in this course to the main outlines of the development of Swedish literature from Swedenborg the mystic to Selma Lagerlöf, a recipient of the Nobel Prize.
Reading:Swedenborg; Linnaeus; Dalin; Bellman; Arndt; Tegnér; Atterbom; Bremer; Runeberg; Flygare-Carlén; Edgren-Leffler; Strindberg; Lagerlöf.
Everyone knows Hans Christian Andersen, the great story-teller of the North, but not many are familiar with what his countrymen have accomplished in literature. This course gives the student a general survey of the more important figures in Swedish literature and helps to round out his knowledge of the writers of the Scandinavian countries.
Reading:Ewald; Baggesen; Oehlenschläger; Blicher; Ingemann; Hertz; Andersen; Paludan-Müller; Goldschmidt; Brandes; Drachmann.
To Scandinavian writers belong the glory of having founded a new school of drama and of having developed to a new stage the technique of the theatre. No one can understand the modern drama of England or of continental countries without taking Ibsen and his successors into consideration. This course is intended for students of the history of the drama as well as for those interested in comparative literature and modern European writing.
Reading:Holberg; Oehlenschläger; Björnson; Ibsen.
Partly from its isolation, partly from its distant beginnings, the literature of Iceland is interesting to the modern student. This course gives him in outline a brief survey of the meager but attractive writings of that island.
Reading:Icelandic Literature; Árnason.