Krakel Spektakel, hör hur det låter! Studier i Lennart Hellsings språkvärld

Sammanfattning: This thesis deals with Lennart Hellsing's works, and especially his texts for small children, from 1945 to 2000. In an introductory survey the oral transmission of literature is discussed in relation to orality and literacy. The presupposition is that there are similarities between oral culture and texts for the very young. Hellsing's production is surveyed along with his position as a poet, his interests in other art forms, and his ideas on education. Attention is drawn to a fascination for carnival and festivity, and a strong affection for folklore and tradition found in his texts. His nursery rhymes, poems and songs are discussed from an auditive point of view: rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, puns. The analysis also demonstrates how the poet has cooperated with musicians and how his texts have been interpreted by composers. The form of the poems and stories is found to be adapted to a situation of oral performance and auditive reception, and to mnemotechnical needs. The existence of a "double audience", a grown-up performer and a listening child, is of great importance, implemented with both sound repetitions for language training and many allusions for the adult to enjoy. As is the case in many orally transmitted texts there is often a "double scene", where what is being told in the story or poem coincides with the setting of the performance. The final chapter examines characters, settings and activities. It reveals that many features of Hellsing's fictive world can be regarded as closely related to what is found in traditional oral storytelling.