Norwegian Life: An Account of Past and Contemporary Conditions and Progress in Norway and Sweden — John Shaqi
Norwegian Life: An Account of Past and Contemporary Conditions and Progress in Norway and Sweden
History
Norwegian Life: An Account of Past and Contemporary Conditions and Progress in Norway and Sweden
Norway -- Social life and customs; Sweden -- Social life and customs
Christian Baumann Tullin (1728-1765), a genuine poetical genius,
who has been called the father of Danish lyrical verse, was born in
Christiania, and his poetry, which was mainly written in his native
city, breathes a national spirit. From his day, for about thirty
years, Denmark obtained the majority of her poets from Norway. The
manager of the Danish National Theater, in 1771, was a Norwegian,
Niels Krog-Bredal (1733-1778), who was the first to write lyrical
dramas in Danish. A Norwegian, Johan Nordal Brun (1745-1816), a gifted
poet, wrote tragedy in the conventional French taste of the day. It
was a Norwegian, Johan Herman Wessel (1742-1785), who by his great
parody, _Kjaerlighed uden Strömper_, "Love without Stockings," laughed
the French taste out of fashion. Among the writers of this period are
also Claus Frimann (1746-1829), Peter Harboe Frimann (1752-1839),
Claus Fasting (1746-1791), John Wibe (1748-1782), Edward Storm
(1749-1794), C.H. Pram (1756-1821), Jonas Rein (1760-1821), and Jens
Zetlitz (1761-1821), all of them Norwegians by birth. Two notable
events led to the foundation of an independent Norwegian literature:
the one was the establishment of a Norwegian university at
Christiania, in 1811, and the other was the separation of Norway
from Denmark, in 1814. At first the independent Norwegian literature
appeared as immature as the conditions surrounding it. The majority of
the writers had received their education in old Copenhagen, and were
inclined to follow in the beaten track of the old literature,
although trying to introduce a more national spirit. All were greatly
influenced by the political feeling of the hour. There was a period
when all poetry had for its subject the beauties and strength of
Norway and its people, and _The Rocks of Norway, The Lion of Norway_,
etc., sounded everywhere. Three poets called _Trefoil_, were the
prominent writers of this period. Of these, Conrad Nicolai Schwach
(1793-1860) was the least remarkable. Henrik A. Bjerregaard
(1792-1842) was the author of _The Crowned National Song_, and of a
lyric drama, _Fjeldeventyret_, "The Adventures in the Mountains." The
third member of the _Trefoil_, Mauritz Christian Hansen (1794-1842),
wrote a large number of novels and national stories, which were quite
popular in their time. His poems were among the earliest publications
of independent Norway.
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