Salaminin kuninkaat: Murhe-näytelmä viidessä näytöksessä

Johan Ludvig RunebergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5
Word count
132K words
Chapters
14

Tags

Foreign Language Books Dramatic Literature Fate and FortunePower GameHuman NatureComplex HumanityMoral DilemmaClassical DramaVerse DramaTurbulent EraNordic SettingTragic Aesthetics

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Salaminin kuninkaat: Murhe-näytelmä viidessä näytöksessä by Johan Ludvig RunebergAuthor: Runeberg, Johan Ludvig, 1804-1877,Language: Finnish, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Feb 3, 2015

Editor's review

This is the five-act tragedy *Salaminin kuninkaat* (The Kings of Salamis) by the Finnish poet and writer Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877), released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain Finnish-language eBook. Runeberg holds an important place in Finnish literary history, and his works often engage with historical and national themes; this play, with its sorrowful tone, builds its dramatic conflict around power and fate. For Chinese readers, its value lies more in literary history and drama studies: it offers a window into the language style, five-act structure, and tragic staging of nineteenth-century Nordic verse drama. Reading it requires some knowledge of Finnish, or else a translation and research materials for cross-reference. It is not meant as light reading but as a text for focused study, to be read alongside background materials on the period, with attention to the conflict and moral tension in the characters' lines.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the plot summary and character list first, then move into the five acts to avoid losing the thread.
  2. Mark the turning points of conflict in each act and trace the key nodes of the tragedy's progression.
  3. Read alongside materials on Runeberg's life and Finnish literary history to understand the background.
  4. If the language proves difficult, read a reliable translation through first, then return to the original to feel the language of the verse drama.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14

FAQ

What language is this book written in, and what language skills does it require? The book is in Finnish and falls under Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Reading the main text requires some Finnish; without it, you would do better to start with a translation or research materials to learn the plot and background before deciding whether to tackle the original, since otherwise a language barrier may make you give up midway.
Who was Runeberg, and what is this book's literary significance? Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877) was a major Finnish author whose work is often tied to national history and spirit. This play, a five-act tragedy, is part of his dramatic output. For readers studying Finnish literature and nineteenth-century Nordic drama, it is source material for understanding the period's verse-drama forms and conceptions of tragedy.
Why is this book labeled “Murhe-näytelmä” (tragedy)? “Murhe-näytelmä” means tragedy in Finnish, and the title already signals the genre. The five-act structure allows conflict to unfold layer by layer, and readers can watch how the characters' choices among power, fate, and morality lead to a tragic outcome—a dramatic technique worth noting when studying the play.

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About the author

Johan Ludvig Runeberg Author · Finnish · 1804–1877

Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877) was a Finnish national poet who wrote in Swedish, born in Jakobstad and died in Porvoo. Through poetry and narrative works he portrayed Finland's nature, the life of its people, and historical memory, in a plain yet lyrical style that combines national awareness with humanistic concern. His representative works include The Elk Hunters, Hanna, and The Tales of Ensign Stål, whose prologue poem "Our Land" later became the Finnish national anthem. Sixteen of his works are held in the collection, commonly classified under inspirational growth. Public information on other details of his life is limited, so they are not supplied here.