Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, better known for his political writing, had been a poetry enthusiast since his study years. His oldest known poem is Lifvets svärmeri from 1813. At first Arwidsson’s poems were adorations of carefree life and pleasures. Not long after, however, the topics of his poetry turned political.

Arwidsson’s lyrical works were mostly written in 1813-1815. The majority of his poetry can be described as a kind of patriotic pathos. Like Arwidsson’s later history books, his poems also dealt with the theme of the great men of history and their heroic deeds, often in a national romanticist spirit.

As a poet, Arwidsson became known in Sweden in 1815, when his poem Vid en smälthytta was published in the Swedish review Poetisk kalender. In the poem Friskt mod, written in 1817, Arwidsson wrote – characteristically – about the strong men of the North, Viking-style heroes and their feats.

Arwidsson’s poetic period was short-lived. His lyrical writing dwindled and all but vanished by the end of the 1820s. It seems he ran out of inspiration and began to focus on more straightforward political writing. Arwidsson nevertheless remained interested in poetry and even studied Swedish folk verse.

References

• Kari Tarkiainen, Arwidsson, Adolf Ivar, National Biography online publication. Accessed August 4, 2015. Available for free via Nelli
• Sverker Ek, Adolph Ivar Arwidsson, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon online publication. Accessed August 4, 2015.
• Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, Wikipedia online publication. Accessed August 4, 2015.