Kalevalic

Kalevalic is an adjective used in literary and folklore studies to describe anything pertaining to the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, and to the language, form, and tradition associated with it. The term can refer to the epic itself, to works influenced by it, or to the broader Kalevalic tradition of Finnic oral poetry that fed its compilation by Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century.

A central feature of Kalevalic material is its highly formulaic diction, including epithets and repeated motifs, organized in a metrical pattern known as the Kalevala meter: trochaic tetrameter with alliteration and internal rhyme. This metre supports a mythic and folkloric register, often dealing with heroic deeds, cosmology, and songs preserved from oral performance. The Kalevalic style is not limited to the literal text of Kalevala; scholars apply the label to poetry and songs that imitate its rhythm, diction, or thematic range.

In scholarly usage, Kalevalic is used to classify works that consciously evoke Kalevala's tradition or that belong to the sphere of Finnic epic poetry; the concept also informs discussions of how oral poetry becomes written literature. The term helps describe a family of forms and techniques shared by works rooted in or inspired by the Kalevala. See also Kalevala, Kalevala meter, Finnish folklore.