Bixby, James T. Review of the Kalevala. Unitarian Review XXXI, No. 4 (April, 1889): 309-27.

Examines various mythological aspects of the Kalevala.

Branch, M. A. Introduction to Kalevala: The Land of Heroes, translated by W. F. Kirby, pp. xi-xxxiv. London: Athlone, 1985.

Identifies four layers of style characteristic of the Kalevala and other Finnish folk poetry of its type.

Comparetti, Domenico. "Conclusions." The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, translated by Isabella M. Anderton, pp. 327-59. London and New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1898.

Analysis of various aspects of the Kalevala which concludes that it is not comparable to ancient national epics like the Iliad.

Crawford, John Martin, editor and translator. Preface to The Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland, Vol. 1, pp. v-xlix. New York: John B. Alden, Publisher, 1888.

Views the Kalevala as "a contest between Light and Darkness, Good and Evil," and describes it as "one of the most precious contributions to the literature of the world."

Honko, Lauri. "The 'Kalevala' Process." Folklife Annual (1986): 66-79.

Examines the poetic evolution that produced the oral poetry collected by Lönnrot and other scholars and the codification of that poetry in the Kalevala.

Kerényi, C. "The Primordial Child in Primordial Times." Essays on a Science of Mythology: The Myth of the Divine Child and the Mysteries of Eleusis, by C. G. Jung and C. Kerényi, translated by R. F. C. Hull, Bollingen Series XXII, revised edition, pp. 25-69. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969.

Examines the tragic figure of Kullervo from the Kalevala in terms of the mythological "divine child," a child deity comparable to Dionysus or Hermes in Greek mythology.

Krohn, Julius. Letter to F. Max Muller. The Athenaeum 2, No. 3182 (October 20, 1888): 519-20.

Discusses the evolution of the Kalevala and the process used by Lönnrot in assembling the poem.

Lang, Andrew. "The 'Kalevala'." Homer and the Epic, pp. 413-19. London and New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1893.

Argues that the Kalevala cannot be considered an epic, particularly because of its lack of unity.

Lönnrot, Elias, ed. The Kalevala; or Poems of the Kalevala District, translated by Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963, 410 p.

One of the best modern translations, its introduction and appendixes provide background information about Lönnrot's life, Finnish poetry, and the compilation of the Kalevala.

Nyland, Waino. "'Kalevala' as a Reputed Source of Longfellow's 'Song of Hiawatha.'" American Literature 22, No. 1 (March, 1950): 1-20.

Examines the contention that the Kalevala is a direct source of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha (1855).

Oinas, Felix J. "The Balto-Finnic Epic." Heroic Epic and Saga: An Introduction to the World's Great Folk Epics, edited by Felix J. Oinas, pp. 286-309. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1978.

Briefly explores the composition, form, and influence of the Kalevala.

Rexroth, Kenneth. "The Kalevala." Classics Revisited, pp. 24-28. New York: New Directions, 1968.

Finds that the Kalevala "succeeds and endures because it expresses a national consciousness, but the consciousness of the kinship of a race of men with all living creatures about them."

Schoolfield, George C. The Kalevala: Epic of the Finnish People, translated by Eino Friberg. Helsinki: Otava Publishing Company, 1988.

Includes an English translation of the Kalevala as well as critical materials analyzing the structure of the compilation and its significance for the development of Finnish language, national identity, and culture.

Sealey, Raphaël. "Appendix: The Structure of the 'Kalevala'." Revue des Etudes Greques LXX, Nos. 331-33 (July-December, 1957): 352-55.

Finds in the Kalevala a unity of structure evidenced through the interweaving of themes, the variation of mood, and the arrangement of the narrative.

Setälä, E. N. "The Centenary of the 'Kalevala': The National Epic of the Finns." The Slavonic and East European Review 14, No. 40 (July, 1935): 36-43.

Compares initial critical reactions to the Kalevala with conceptions of it on the poem's centenary, and notes its importance to Finnish nationalism.

Stephens, Anna Cox. "The Kalevala." Music II, No. 2 (June, 1892): 133-43.

Praises the Kalevala" s rich use of fantasy and magic and its delicate portrayal of sentiments.

Turunen, Aimo. "Folk Epic to National Epic: Kalevala and Kalevipoeg." Folklorica: Festschrift for Felix J. Oinas, edited by Egle Victoria Žygas and Peter Voorheis, pp. 277-89. Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1982.

Discusses the influence the Kalevala has had on subsequent Finnish music, literature, and art.

Additional coverage of the Kalevala is contained in the following source published by Gale Research: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Vol. 6.