Danish literature
The earliest preserved texts from Denmark are runic inscriptions on memorial stones and other objects, some of which contain short poems in alliterative verse.
The challenges faced during Denmark's absolute monarchy in 1660 are chronicled in Jammersminde (Remembered Woes) by Leonora Christina of the Blue Tower.
Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and Humanism, is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature.
During Denmark's Golden Age (1800–1850), literature centred on Romantic thinking, with authors such as philosopher Henrik Steffens (1773–1845) and the poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789–1862).
Saxo's work is an important primary source for the study of Scandinavian myths and legends as well as a lively account of Danish history up to the author's own time.
Major authors of the time include the humanist Christiern Pedersen, who translated the New Testament into Danish, and Poul Helgesen who vigorously opposed the Reformation.
[2] He is remembered in particular for Hexaemeron, a poem describing the six days of the Creation (c. 1622), published posthumously[3] External struggles with Sweden and internal rivalries among the nobility leading to Denmark's absolute monarchy in 1660 are chronicled from a royal prisoner's redemptive perspective in Jammersminde (Remembered Woes), in the heartfelt prose of Leonora Christina of the Blue Tower, written 1673–1698, but first published in 1869.
Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and Humanism, is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature.
[13] One of the most important figures in Danish literary culture was Nikolaj Grundtvig (1783–1872) who instilled a growing spirit of nationalism based initially on his Northern Mythology (1808) and his long drama, The Fall of the Heroic Life in the North (1809).
In all Grundtvig wrote or translated about 1,500 hymns, including "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage", most of which are still frequently sung today.
But Andersen also wrote a number of travel sketches, several novels including the well-received: "The Improvisatore" (1835), a series of poems, and his autobiography "The Fairy Tale of My Life" (1855).
Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives, focusing on the priority of concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment.
Opposing Hegelian philosophy, they promote the existential approach which raises the individual's awareness of God but intensifies his despair at not being able to achieve eternal truth.
[16][17] Modern Breakthrough was a strong Scandinavian movement covering naturalism and debating literature towards the end of the 19th century (1870–1890), replacing romanticism.
[21] Other authors associated with the Modern Breakthrough movement include Holger Drachmann (1846–1908), a popular poet in his day, Herman Bang (1857–1912), a successful novelist, and Sophus Schandorph who gained fame with his Fra Provinsen (1876), a set of rustic tales.
[22] Karen Blixen (1885–1962), who also used the pen name "Isak Dinesen", was an unusually sensitive author, writing in both English and Danish and often adopting a fairy-tale style.
Known for her direct style and honest accounts of her private life in the poorer quarters of Copenhagen, Ditlevsen enjoyed popularity from the 1940s until her tragic suicide in 1976.
In his novel "Den kroniske uskyld" (Chronic Innocence) (1958) about a generation which experienced problems with its personal development and its sexuality, Rifbjerg created an image of himself as a provocative and scandalous author.
[25] Leif Davidsen (born 1950) worked mainly in Spain and Russia as a freelance journalist for Danmarks Radio and a number of Danish newspapers.
[30] Peter Høeg (born 1957) began his literary career in 1988 with his novel Forestilling om det tyvende århundrede (English: The History of Danish Dreams) whose colourful characters participate in Denmark's transition to a modern welfare state.
Released as a movie in 1997, it tells the story of how Smilla, a Greenlander, helps to solve the mystery behind a boy who falls to his death from a rooftop into the snow below.
Almost as popular are his novels De måske egnede or Borderliners (1994), Kvinden og aben or The Woman and the Ape (1996) and Den stille pige or The Quiet Girl (2007).
[31][32] Jens Christian Grøndahl (born 1959) began his literary career in 1985 with novels in the rather complex French nouveau roman style.
[33] Several of his books have been translated into English including Tavshed i oktober (Silence in October) (1996), Virginia (2000) and Et andet lys (An Altered Light) (2002).
