This master's thesis deals with the influence of The Kalevala and the Finnish language on the English writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and his work. The main purpose is to provide a possibly most complex description of The Kalevala's influence on Tolkien. Firstly, the background of The Kalevala, the role of Elias Lönnrot during its birth and its importance, and secondly, Tolkien, his work and his discovery of The Kalevala are introduced. The main part of the thesis focuses on Tolkien's inspiration by The Kalevala out of three different perspectives. The first one is the influence of the Finnish language on Quenya, one of Tolkien's fictional languages. The second one is The Kalevala's importance for Tolkien from a general point of view - especially the influence of Lönnrot's role, The Kalevala's mythology, several abstract aspects of The Kalevala led by the importance of singing and The Kalevala's structure is crucial. The third one is Tolkien's inspiration by The Kalevala from a concrete point of view. Particularly the importance of The Kalevala's character Väinämöinen and the story of the Sampo is significant here.

The Kalevala, first published in 1835 by Elias Lönnrot, is the Finnish national epic and was fundamental in formalizing the Finnish language. It is a collection of stories Lönnrot collected over many years, pieced together to create a coherent epic. The stories in the Kalevala stem from an oral tradition, in which singing and music was integral. The stories in the epic contain many different characters, with Väinämöinen and his quest in to find a wife at the forefront. Other major characters discussed include Kullervo, Lemminkäinen, and Luonnotar. Extensive research exists about the history of the Kalevala itself, as well as its impact on music in Finland in the areas of pop music, symphonic music, choral music, and opera. However, little scholarship exists, regarding how the texts from the Kalevala have been incorporated into 19th and 20th century art song. The lack of research about the Kalevala in art song is due partly to the fact that no catalogue of related songs exists. Also, works based on the Kalevala are hard to obtain, as many are only available in manuscript form, or are found only in the Finnish National Archives. This essay aims to bridge the research gap on art song inspired by the Kalevala, while evaluating the works available in the context of their incorporation of the folk singing tradition that would have been used in the early performance of these Kalevala texts. Songs analyzed include works by Gabriel Linsén, Emil Kauppi, Jean Sibelius, Otto Kotilainen, and Erkki Melartin.

ENGLISH SUMMARY This master thesis focuses on swan symbolism in Finnish poetry, from the oldest folk poems of oral tradition to the first decades of the 20th century. Firstly a swan is described from the zoological and etymological point of view, and its position in the contemporary Finnish culture is clarified. The next chapter is dedicated to swan symbolism in European culture, from antiquity till presence, and it focuses on mythology, folk traditions and the most common motives in visual art, music and literature. The key part of the thesis describes the swan symbolism in Finnish oral tradition and especially in poetry of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The thesis focuses in particular on Johan Ludvig Runeberg's, Aleksis Kivi's, Elias Lönnrot's, Juhani Aho's, Eino Leino's, Otto Manninen's and Aarni Kouta's poetry. A special chapter is devoted to the myth of the Swan of Tuonela. Following the swan symbolism throughout literature and culture history, I have been looking for connections to Finnish national as well as European traditions and intertextual relations.