V.

Romanticism

Like so many other literary movements, romanticism reached Denmark from Germany. A major impetus in its arrival came from Norwegian philosopher Henrik Steffens, who lectured on German romanticism in Copenhagen. Among his students was the young Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, whose first book, Digte (Poems, 1803), marks the beginning of the romantic period of Danish literature. Oehlenschläger’s poem “The Golden Horns,” published in Digte, contains many of the principal ideas of romanticism in a nutshell. The deities of Nordic mythology are invoked. Spontaneity and naiveté are praised. Love as a holy force is extolled. Materialism is severely criticized. The mystic romantic belief in “the unity of the universe” is expressed. History and nature are conceived as one, since an event in history is accompanied by a similar phenomenon in nature. Oehlenschläger is one of the finest lyric poets in Danish literature; the technical skill with which he handles a variety of meters is unsurpassed. He also wrote a number of romantic tragedies that had a great influence on the youthful romantic dramas of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and Swedish dramatist August Strindberg.

The romantic movement in Denmark, of which Oehlenschläger was the undisputed leader, became a period of such creative fertility that it is sometimes referred to as The Golden Age of Danish literature. Other writers of the romantic era were B. S. Ingemann, an author of didactic historical novels and brief songs; Johann Hauch, who wrote dramas, novels, and poetry; and Steen Blicher, whose short stories describe life in the somber Jutland moors. Poet Nicolai Frederick Severin Grundtvig was an able linguist, historian, and scholar who translated Beowulf and Saxo’s Gesta Danorum into Danish. He was also an educator whose reforms led to the establishment of the Danish regional high schools.

A second generation of romanticists gave a new turn to the movement, stressing aesthetic technique and poetic realism. Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who became the arbiter of taste for the period, wrote poetry and light drama. Influenced by German and French literature, he created a new dramatic genre, the vaudeville, a light, elegant comedy interspersed with songs. This genre became immensely popular and ousted Oehlenschläger’s romantic tragedies from public favor. Heiberg’s fairy-tale comedy Elverhøj (1828; Elves’ Hill) remained the most-often performed drama in Denmark into the 20th century. Frederik Paludan-Müller was the author of the verse novel Adam Homo (1841-1848). Novelist Meir Aaron Goldschmidt combined romantic and realistic elements. In his novel The Raven (1867) Goldschmidt gave his finest description of everyday life in Copenhagen.