The 20th century

For a full treatment of this period, see 20th-century Norwegian literature.

The tone was set for writers of the early 20th century in 1890, when Knut Hamsun published a manifesto of new ideas in the periodical Samtiden (“The Present Age”): “Fra det ubevidste sjæleliv” (“From the Unconscious Life of the Mind”). Hamsun was impatient with contemporary emphasis on social problems, and his early novels—such as Sult (1890; Hunger)—exemplified these ideas. (His later novels were less extreme, and he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920.) Gunnar Heiberg expressed this new spirit in drama. Lyric poetry flourished in the hands of Sigbjørn Obstfelder and Nils Collett Vogt.

Novels and lyric poetry in Norwegian flourished during the first half of the 20th century. During the early decades, regionalism was a strong element, particularly in the novel. Kristofer Uppdal, for example, who lived in the mid-north region of Trøndelag, wrote a 10-volume novel cycle, Dansen gjenom skuggeheimen (1911–24; “The Dance Through the Shadow World”), that grapples with the spread of industrialism. Sigrid Undset, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, set her novels in many different ages, and their concern was to examine women’s loyalties within the framework of their role in society. Her historical novel Kristin Lavransdatter (1920–22) is a masterpiece of Norwegian literature. Other novelists of this period were Johan Falkberget and Olav Duun. Herman Wildenvey and Olaf Bull were popular lyric poets.

Socially committed writers of the years between World War I and World War II include Arnulf Øverland, Nordahl Grieg, Helge Krog, and Sigurd Hoel.

Tarjei Vesaas was one of several writers—among them Cora Sandel and Aksel Sandemose—who opened new horizons for Norwegian prose before and after World War II, each in distinctive ways. Vesaas, who wrote in Nynorsk, has been called Norway’s most provincial international writer: his works are firmly rooted in the Norwegian countryside, but their concerns are universal. Sandel’s largely autobiographical Alberte trilogy (1926–39), a depiction of a young woman’s journey toward maturity and her artistic calling, resonated powerfully among women readers, while Sandemose’s novels probe the depths of the human mind, especially its irrationality.

Among the Scandinavian countries, Norway had some of the most painful experiences of World War II, which were widely reflected in the country’s postwar literature. The works of Jens Bjørneboe and Torborg Nedreaas provide particularly important perspectives on the war. Johan Borgen was also a prominent postwar literary figure.

Modernism is an important strain in 20th-century Norwegian poetry, and among its notable exponents were Rolf Jacobsen, Paal Brekke, Olav H. Hauge, and Stein Mehren.

During the late 1960s and ’70s a new generation of Norwegian writers advocated politically engaged literature. Called the Profil group, these writers included Tor Obrestad, Dag Solstad, Espen Haavardsholm, and Edvard Hoem. Øystein Lønn, who debuted in the 1960s, critiqued modern society in his novels and short stories. In subsequent decades, Lars Saabye Christensen, who first gained popularity with his novel Beatles (1984), won praise for Halvbroren (2001; The Half Brother). Jan Kjærstad’s breakthrough novel was Homo Falsus; eller, det perfekte mord (1984; “Homo Falsus; or, The Perfect Murder”). Bjørg Vik was a short-story writer who portrayed, from a feminist viewpoint, the lives of contemporary women, while Cecilie Løveid, a postmodernist poet and playwright, became one of the few writers who successfully challenged the Ibsenite tradition in drama.

Jon Fosse, a playwright and novelist writing in Nynorsk, developed an international reputation at the turn of the 21st century, and in 2023 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.