ABSTRACT
The works of Þórarinn Eldjárn (b. 1949), one of Iceland's most popular and prolific poets for children, abound in motifs and characters from Icelandic mythology, folklore, and history. 1 The uses of traditional Icelandic material earned him the label þjóðlegur (ethnic/national). Drawing on a repository of Icelandic themes is particularly conspicuous in Eldjárn's poetry for children. The indigenous character of this verse is enhanced by the accompanying illustrations authored by Sigrún Eldjárn (b. 1954), Þórarinn Eldjárn's sister, with some of the Icelandic motifs present only in the pictures. An examination of the collections' visual texture would be enough to convince one that Eldjárn's verse is indeed “ethnic” and “national”: colors of the Icelandic flag and traditional costumes are recurrent motifs and even the official coat of arms makes an appearance. In his collections for children we find familiar titles of mythological poems (“Völuspá”), medieval chronicles and sagas (Heimskringla, Egilssaga), and recognizable characters from Icelandic folklore (the Bull of Þorgeir, the trolls Grýla and Leppalúði, Nykur, Kölski). There are also verses on cultural heroes including the first Icelandic settler Ingólfur Arnarson, the Romantic poet Jónas Hallgrímsson, or more recent figures such as the writer Halldór Laxness and the painter Jóhannes Kjarval. The titles of the poems lead one to believe that the poet aims to educate the young generation by recounting culturally important narratives and indeed to “initiate children into aspects of a social heritage, transmitting many of a culture's central values and assumptions and a body of shared allusions and experiences” (Stephens and McCallum 3). This may well be the case. However, these national motifs are invariably explored in a subversive way and consequently one's expectations as to their didactic function are hardly fulfilled. From the heights of revered tradition the reader is immediately thrown into the midst of carnivalesque merriment and chaos. The aim of this article, therefore, is to examine Eldjárn's (mis)uses of the Icelandic tradition and the potential tension arising between two objectives of his poetry for children: to teach and to tease.
