Stiernhielm, to whom Svenbro makes a key allusion in Lepidopterology, was
a poet, scholar, scientist, and civil servant who is known as the father of Swedish poetry. His work, The Silk-Worm, is considered the first sonnet in the Swedish language, the silkworm being, as John Matthias and Lars-HÃ¥kan Svensson
write in their translator's notes to Three-toed Gull, a motif of the era that symbolized
spiritual regeneration or love's restorative power
Lepidopterology