Swedish Romantic literature

[8] Esaias Tegnér (1782–1846) has been described as the first modern Swedish man, in the sense that very much is known about both his life and his person, and that he left an extensive correspondence.

The work was translated into several languages, put to music in Sweden, where it had status of a national epos until the realism of the 1880s obsoleted it.

In the spirit of Dickens, Rydberg wrote adventurous novels and stories that in reality were dealing with the poor and exposed people of society.

Several works tried to define a world where Christianity became integrated with humanistic ideals of ancient Greece.

A key figure was the Swedish speaking Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877), was established himself as Finland's national poet, a distinction he has kept into modern times.

His most important work was The Tales of Ensign Stål (1848–1860), an epic poem about the Finnish War (1808–1809), the first verse of which became Finland's national anthem.