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Pär Lagerkvist

パール・ラーゲルクヴィスト

Par Lagerkvist

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1891-05-23 （Växjö, Sweden）
Died
1974-07-11 （Stockholm, Sweden） age 83
Nationality
Swedish
Languages
Swedish
Religion
Lutheran (in childhood)
Residence History
Växjö (birthplace) → Stockholm (long-term residence)

Career

Occupations
poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, short story writer
Active Years
1910-1974
Affiliations
Swedish Academy (Seat No. 8)
Memberships
Swedish Academy
Influenced By
Christian tradition (biblical stories and motifs), Early modernism and expressionism, Religious literature (e.g. the Gospel of John)
Influenced
Subsequent Scandinavian and Swedish writers, Approaches to religious and moral themes in film and theatre
Nominations
Nobel Prize in Literature (nominated from 1947, multiple nominations)

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1951
Work: Barabbas
Organization: Nobel Prize Committee / Nobel Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Barabbas

1950 historical/religious novel

Based on a biblical episode, it follows Barabbas—the man released instead of Jesus—exploring his life, his witness of the crucifixion, and his struggle to understand why he was chosen to live; a meditation on faith and the meaning of existence.

faith and doubtlife and deathatonementmoral questioning
Adaptations
  • [film] Barabbas (1961 film) / Richard Fleischer (1961)
Translations
  • English translation: Barabbas (Vintage, 1989)

The Dwarf

1944 allegorical novel / satire

An allegorical tale told through the perspective of a court dwarf, probing the nature of evil and the cruelty of human societies; an ironic and unsparing critique of power and violence.

the problem of evilcorruption of powerhuman nature
Translations
  • English translation: The Dwarf (Chatto & Windus, 1953)

The Death of Ahasuerus

1960 religious / philosophical novel

Using the figure of Ahasuerus (the Wandering Jew), the novel poetically explores immortality, loneliness, and the possibility of redemption across time.

immortality and wanderinglonelinesssearch for redemption
Translations
  • English translation: The Death of Ahasuerus (Vintage, 1982)

Bibliography

  • Människor (People) (1912)
  • Ordkonst och bildkonst (Literary Art and Pictorial Art) (1913)
  • Ångest (Anguish) (1916)
  • Det eviga leendet (The Eternal Smile) (1920)
  • Gäst hos verkligheten (Guest of Reality) (1925)
  • Bödeln (The Executioner / The Hangman) (1933)
  • Dvärgen (The Dwarf) (1944)
  • Barabbas (1950)
  • Sibyllan (The Sibyl) (1956)
  • Ahasverus död (The Death of Ahasuerus) (1960)

Adaptations

  • Barabbas (film adaptation, 1961)

Translations of Works

  • The Dwarf (English translation, Chatto & Windus, 1953)
  • Barabbas (English translation, Vintage, 1989)
  • The Death of Ahasuerus (English translation, Vintage, 1982)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, symbolic styleclear, occasionally naÏve-seeming narrationuse of religious and moral motifs
Recurring Motifs
conflict of good and evilbiblical figures and motifs (Barabbas, Ahasuerus)death and existential anguishindividual versus humanity

Legacy

Lagerkvist, Nobel Prize laureate in 1951, significantly influenced Nordic literature by exploring universal human questions through religious and moral themes. He is praised for a simple yet powerful style and allegorical approach.

Academic Societies

  • Swedish Academy

Archives

  • Swedish Academy archives
  • Nobel Foundation archives (materials related to the prize)

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of Barabbas (1961, starring Anthony Quinn)
  • Continued references in Nordic culture such as theatrical productions and educational curricula

Quotes

  • “for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind.”
    Source: The Nobel Prize Committee (Nobel Prize in Literature 1951 citation) (1951)

Trivia

  • Elected to the Swedish Academy (Seat No. 8) in 1940 and served until 1974.
  • During WWII he participated in the anti-Nazi group Tisdagsklubben and was reportedly on Gestapo death lists in case of a German invasion of Sweden.
  • His major work Barabbas has been adapted for film several times; the 1961 version was directed by Richard Fleischer and starred Anthony Quinn.