Kalevala

About

The Kalevala (1835, expanded 1849) is the Finnish national epic — a compilation by Elias Lönnrot of traditional oral poetry from Karelia, assembled into fifty runot (songs) narrating the exploits of the heroes Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen, and Ilmarinen against the forces of Pohjola. The Kalevala inspired Sibelius, Tolkien (who learned Finnish to read it), and the entire Finnish national awakening. The trochaic tetrameter of the original — 'Old smooth-chinned Väinämöinen' — was borrowed by Longfellow for Hiawatha. Individual runot work as standalone readings.