In the early 19th century, Danish literature turned to romanticism because the naval battle of 1801 during the war with England sparked nationalist sentiment and a young philosopher introduced German romanticism to Denmark.
Formation and maturity stage
Medieval Period: From the 8th to the 10th century, the Nordic peoples, generally known as Vikings (meaning kings, sea warriors), migrated from the Scandinavian peninsula to the coast below, roaming the seas, sometimes with hundreds of ships. They were pirates, traders, explorers, conquerors, and could even land in America. These adventures are reflected in the epic poems (Saga) of oral literature.
After Christianity was introduced (9th-10th century), it was not until the 12th century that historian Saxo Grammaticus recorded the above stories in Latin in the Gesta Danorum, praising the courage, frankness and simplicity of the Vikings.
Under the influence of Christianity, a Latin literature developed, first of all serving religion (hymns, transmission of saints), the king (laws, chronicles). In the 16th-17th centuries, the religious reformation brought Protestantism to Northern Europe, religious literature continued to develop (hymns, folk songs), as well as historical works. Secular poetry was poor.
In the 18th century, in Northern Europe, Denmark played the most important role because it was rich, had good land, was closest to mainland Europe and had the same social system (feudal serfdom that was almost non-existent in Sweden and Norway), industry and commerce flourished, and urban residents played an active role. The capital Copenhagen was the largest (at that time it was the joint capital of Denmark and Norway merged).
During this period, writer and playwright L. Holberg (1684-1754) was a typical representative of the Enlightenment movement in Northern Europe, the founder of Danish literature, and the founder of Danish comedy (influenced by French literature).
In the second half of the 18th century, the influence of German literature became more prominent, especially due to the presence of the German poet Klopstock, who was favored by the court, so that Danish literature returned to its origins and the myths of the Nordic Germatic period. Typical of that period was the great lyric poet J. Ewald (1743-1781), who wrote two plays.
After a religious crisis, his poetry became more profound. In the opera The Fisherman, a tune was used as the royal anthem of Denmark. At the end of the century, a pre-romantic tendency (patriotism, love of nature) began.
In the early 19th century, Danish literature turned completely to romanticism because the naval battle of 1801 during the war with England sparked nationalist sentiment and a young philosopher introduced German romanticism to Denmark. Literature returned to its origins, ancient Nordic myths, to find creative themes and to innovate forms (images and rhythms of folk poetry).
The first romantic generation: The pioneer author was A. Oehlenschlaeger (1779-1850) with his collection of poems The Golden Horns, using the lyrical-epic “romancero” verse form. His tragedy took its theme from Nordic legends. His most famous work was the play Aladdin’s Lamp, based on an Arabian fairy tale. During his visit to Sweden, he was hailed as “the king of northern poets”.
Pastor N. Grundtvig (1783-1872) was the greatest religious poet of his time. He wanted to combine the Nordic tradition with Christianity, national spirit and folk literature. His hymns are still used today. He was the initiator of the “popular schools” which were very influential in Northern Europe.
Pastor SS Blicher (1742-1848) was a reformist in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. He wrote poetry and prose. His short stories describe the past and present of his native Jutland.
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| Writer Hans Christian Andersen. |
The second romantic generation: After the excitement of the first generation comes the calmer state of the second generation. Bourgeois literature reaches maturity, with some distinctive features: awareness of the intimate, romantic, and polite. The name of L. Heiberg, a playwright and critic, emerges.
Not only during that period but until now, no Danish writer is as famous at home and abroad as Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).
As of 1987, he was one of the most published authors in the world. He represents the most nationalistic Danish traits. His most famous work is the collection of Children's Stories, which contains over 164 stories.
He borrowed plots from legends, fairy tales, folk tales, history, and fiction based on everyday life. His stories have two levels: the level of immediate appeal due to the dramatic plot, the deeper level due to the delicate and poetic nature, exuding a loving, sensitive, sometimes naive heart that still wins people's hearts.
His style combines the poetic with the realistic, the ironic with the sentimental, always with interesting and unexpected associations, fundamentally optimistic. Introducing the English translation of Andersen's stories published in 1999 in the author's homeland - considered the most original version.
Professor E. Bredsdroff complained that most translations in languages around the world have two shortcomings: first, considering Andersen as an author for children, the anthologies only select stories for children. Many stories with profound philosophies that only adults can understand are discarded. Second, the translations sometimes fail to capture Andersen's style.
These two comments are also true for Vietnamese translations, mostly translated from French. I had the opportunity to compare three Vietnamese versions with the 1999 English version (printed in Odense) and found that there were indeed a lack of stories for adults, the translation was mainly Vietnamese, so it was not in Andersen's style. Worse still, sometimes the translator only translated the story to understand it, omitted difficult words, and sometimes translated the meaning backwards.
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