Björnstjerne Björnson was born in 1832 and died in 1909. The last
edition of his Poems and Songs in his lifetime is the fourth, dated
1903. It is a volume of two hundred pages, containing one hundred
and forty-one pieces, arranged in nearly chronological order from
1857, or just before, to 1900. Of these almost two-thirds appeared
in the first edition (1870), ending with Good Cheer and including
ten pieces omitted in the other editions, eight poems and two
lyrical passages from the drama King Sverre; the second edition
(1880) added the contents in order through Question and Answer and
inserted earlier The Angels of Sleep; the third (1900) extended the
additions to include Frederik Hegel.
This translation presents in the same order the contents of the
fourth edition, with the exception of the following ten pieces:
Bryllupsvise Nr. I.
Bryllupsvise Nr. II.
Bryllupsvise Nr. III.
Bryllupsvise Nr. IV.
Bryllupsvise Nr. V.
De norske studenter til fru Louise Heiberg.
De norske studenters hilsen med fakkeltog til deres kgl. höiheder
kronprins Frederik og kronprinsesse Louise.
Til sorenskriver Mejdells sölvbryllup.
Nytaarsrim til rektor Steen.
Til maleren Hans Gudes og frues guldbryllup.
Nine of these are occasional longs in the narrowest sense, with
little or no general interest, and showing hardly any of the
author's better qualities: five Wedding Songs, a Betrothal Song, a
Silver-Wedding Song, a Golden-Wedding Song, and a Students' Song of
Greeting to Mrs. Louise Heiberg. The tenth, a characteristic, rather
long poem of vigor and value, New Year's Epistle in Rhyme to Rector
Steen, is extremely difficult to render into English verse.
The translator has thought it best not to include any of Björnson's
lyric productions not contained in the collection published with his
sanction during his life, the other lyrics in his tales, dramas. and
novels, many occasional short poems in periodicals and newspapers
which were abandoned by their author to their fugitive fate, two
noble lyrical cantatas, and a few fine poems written after the year
1900.
The translation aims to reproduce as exactly as possible the
verse-form, meter, and rhyme of the original. This has been
judged desirable because music has been composed for so many
of these songs and poems, and each of them is, as it were, one
with its musical setting. But such reproduction seems also, on the
whole, to be most faithful and satisfactory, when the translator is
not endowed with poetic genius equal to that of the author. The very
numerous double (dissyllabic) rhymes of the Norwegian are not easy
to render in English. Recourse to the English present participle has
been avoided as much as possible. If it still seems to be too
frequent, the translator asks some measure of indulgence in view of
the fact that the use here of the English present participle is
formally not so unlike that of the inflectional endings and of the
post-positive article Norwegian.
The purpose of the Notes is to assist the better understanding and
appreciation of the contents of the book, by furnishing the
necessary historical and biographical information. Of the persons
referred to it is essential to know their dates, life-work,
character, influence, and relation to Björnson. The Notes have been
drawn from the accessible encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries,
bibliographies, and histories. The notes of Julius Elias to his
edition of German translations of Björnson's poems made by various
writers and published in 1908 have been freely and gratefully used.
The Introduction is designed not so much to offer new and original
criticism as to present the opinions generally held in Scandinavia,
and, of course, chiefly in Norway. The lyric poetry of Björnson has
been excellently discussed by Christian Collin in Björnstjerne
Björnson. Hans Barndom og Ungdom by Henrik Jaeger in Illustreret
norsk literaturhistorie, and by various authors, including Swedes
and Danes, in articles of Björnstjerne Björnson. Festskrift I
anledning af hans 70 aars födelsdag. To all of these special
indebtedness is here acknowledged.