Adam Oehlenschläger

"Oehlenschlaeger" redirects here. For other uses, seeSaba (singer)andAndrea Lykke Oehlenschlæger.

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger
Portrait of Adam Oehlenschläger byChristian Albrecht Jensen(1825)
Born	(1779-11-14)14 November 1779 Copenhagen,Denmark
Died	20 January 1850(1850-01-20)(aged 70) Copenhagen,Denmark
Occupation	Poet, playwright
Nationality	Danish
Alma mater	University of Copenhagen
Notable works	Hakon Jarl hin Rige(1807)Axel og Valborg(1810) Nordens guder(1819)
Spouse	Christiane Georgine Elisabeth Heger (1782-1841)
Signature

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger(Danish pronunciation:[ˈɛːtɑmˈkʌtlʌpˈøˀln̩ˌsleːjɐ];14 November 1779 – 20 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introducedromanticismintoDanish literature.He wrote the lyrics to the songDer er et yndigt land,which is one of thenational anthemsof Denmark.

Biography

Statue of Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger in Frederiksberg Gardens (Copenhagen)

He was born inVesterbro,then a suburb ofCopenhagen.His father, Joachim Conrad Oehlenschläger (1748–1827) was at that timeorganistofFrederiksberg Churchand later, keeper of the royal palace ofFrederiksberg.The poet's mother Martha Marie Hansen (1745–1800) suffered fromdepression,which afterwards deepened intomelancholymadness.

Oehlenschläger and his sisterSophie Ørsted(1782–1818) were taught only to read and write, until their twelfth year. At the age of nine, Oehlenschläger began to write fluentverses.Three years later, he attracted the notice of the poetEdvard Storm(1749–1794) and as a result Öhlenschläger received an introduction intoScandinavian mythology.

Oehlenschläger wasconfirmedin 1795, and was to have been apprenticed to a tradesman in Copenhagen. He also entered the stage where he was offered a small position. In 1797 he made his appearance on the boards in several successive parts, but soon discovered that he possessed no real histrionic talent. JuristAnders Sandøe Ørsted(1778–1860) who would later marry his sister Sophie, persuaded him to quit the theatre, and in 1800 he entered theUniversity of Copenhagen.He was disturbed in his studies by the death of his mother, by his inveterate occupation with poetry, and finally by theFirst Battle of Copenhagenin April 1801, which, however, inspired a dramatic sketch (April the Second 1801), the first work of the kind by his pen that we possess.

Adam Oehlenschläger statue in front of the Royal Theater, Copenhagen, by H. W. Bissen, 1861

In the summer of 1802, when Oehlenschläger had an oldScandinavian romance,as well as a volume oflyricsin the press, the youngNorsephilosopher,Henrik Steffens(1773–1845), returned to Copenhagen after a long visit toFriedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling(1775–1854) in Germany. He was full of new romantic ideas. His lectures at the university, in whichGoetheandSchillerwere revealed to the Danish public for the first time, created a great sensation. Steffens and Oehlenschläger met one day resulting in a conversation of sixteen hours. After Oehlenschläger returned home, he wrote at a sitting his poemGuldhornene,in a manner totally new to Danish literature. The result of his new enthusiasm speedily showed itself in a somewhat hasty volume of poems, published in 1803, now chiefly remembered as containing the piece calledSanct Hansaften-Spil.

The next two years saw the production of several exquisite works, in particular the epic ofThors Reise til Jotunheim,the poem inhexameterscalledLangelandsreisen,and the bewitching fantasyAladdin(1805). At the age of twenty-six, Oehlenschläger was universally recognised, even by the opponents of the romantic revival, as the leading poet ofDenmark.He now collected hisPoetical Writingsin two volumes. He found no difficulty in obtaining a grant for foreign travel from the government, and he left Denmark for the first time, joining Steffens at theUniversity of Hallein August 1805. Here he wrote the first of his great historical tragedies,Hakon Jarl,which he sent off to Copenhagen, and then proceeded for the winter months toBerlin,where he associated withWilhelm von Humboldt,Johann Gottlieb Fichteand met Goethe for the first time.

In the spring of 1806 he went on toWeimar,where he spent several months in daily intercourse with Goethe. Autumn of that year was passed withTieckinDresden,and he proceeded in December toParis.Here he resided eighteen months and wrote his three famous masterpieces,Baldur hin Gode(1808),Palnatoke(1809), andAxel og Valborg(1810).Oehlenschläger had also made his own translation ofAladdininto German, adding some new material which does not appear in the 1805 edition; this revised version was published in Amsterdam in 1808.Ferruccio Busonilater used the text of this translation for the last (choral) movement of hisPiano Concerto Op. 39.Later editions of Oehlenschläger's play do not contain this text.

In July 1808 he left Paris and spent the autumn and winter inSwitzerlandas the guest ofMadame de StaëlatCoppet,in the midst of her salon. In the spring of 1809, Oehlenschläger went to Rome to visitBertel Thorvaldsen,and in his house wrote the tragedy ofCorreggio.He hurriedly returned to Denmark in the spring of 1810, partly to take the chair ofaestheticsat theUniversity of Copenhagen,partly to marry the sister-in-law ofKnud Lyne Rahbek,to whom he had been long betrothed. His first course of lectures dealt with his Danish predecessorJohannes Ewald,the second with Schiller. From this time forward his literary activity became very great; in 1811 he published the Oriental tale ofAli og Gulhyndi,and in 1812 the last of his great tragedies,Stærkodder.

From 1814 to 1819 his admirers were engaged in a long and angry controversy withBaggesen,who represented the olddidacticschool. This contest seems to have disturbed the peace of Oehlenschläger's mind and to have undermined his genius. His talent may be said to have culminated in the cycle of verse-romances calledHelge,published in 1814. The tragedy ofHagbarth og Signe,(1815), showed a distinct diminution of his powers. In 1817 he returned to Paris, and publishedHroars Sagaand the tragedy ofFostbrødrene.In 1818 he was again in Copenhagen, and wrote theidyllofDen lille Hyrdedrengand theEddaiccycle calledNordens Guder.His next productions were thetragediesofErik og Abel(1820) andVæringerne i Miklagaard(1826), and the epic ofHrolf Krake(1829). His last volumes wereTordenskjold(1833),Dronning Margrethe(1833),Sokrates(1835),Olaf den Hellige(1836),Knud den Store(1838),Dina(1842),Erik Glipping(1843), andKiartan og Gudrun(1847). After his death hisRecollections(1850) were published in two volumes.

Personal life

Adam Oehlenschläger married Christiane Georgine Elisabeth Heger (1782-1841) in 1810. She was the sister ofKamma Rahbek(1775–1829), the wife ofKnud Lyne Rahbek(1760–1830). Oehlenschläger died 20 January 1850 and was buried in the cemetery ofFrederiksberg Church.

Legacy

Oehlenschläger crowned with laurel by Tegner at Lund Cathedral
by Constantin Hansen (1866)

Adam Oehlenschläger was one of the principal pioneers of theromantic movementin Europe. With the exception ofLudvig Holberg(1684–1754), no Danish writer before 1870 has exercised so wide an influence. His work awoke among his countrymen an enthusiasm for the poetry and religion of their ancestors. He supplied his countrymen with romantic tragedies at a time when all eyes were turned to the stage. His plays fulfilled the stage requirements of the day, and were popular beyond all expectation. He performed to an extent that his name remains to this day synonymous with Scandinavian romance.

The earliest are the best: Oehlenschlager's dramatic masterpiece being his first tragedy,Hakon Jarl.Although his inspiration came from Germany, he is not much like a German poet, except when he is consciously following Goethe; his analogy is rather to be found among English poets than his contemporaries.

Honours

• In 1829 he was publicly laurel-crowned in Lund Cathedral as the "king of Nordic Poetry" and the "Scandinavian King of Song" byEsaias Tegnér,Bishop of theDiocese of Växjö(1782–1846).
• On his seventieth birthday (14 November 1849) a public festival was arranged in his honor. He was decorated by the king of Denmark as a Knight Grand Cross in theOrder of the Dannebrog.

Footnotes

Sources

• Beaumont, Antony(1985).Busoni the Composer.London:Faber and Faber.ISBN0-571-13149-2.

Further reading

• Andersen, Vilhelm (1899).Adam Oehlenschläger, et livs poesi(København, Nordiske forlag).

External links

• Works by Adam OehlenschlägeratProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Adam OehlenschlägeratInternet Archive
• Works by Adam OehlenschlägeratLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)
• Oehlenschläger,author presentation inProject Runeberg
• Aladdin, or, The wonderful lamp,by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, William Blackwood & Sons, 1863