Adam Oehlenschläger

Poet (1779-1850)

“Flesh sculptor” was Grundtvig’s deprecating term for Oehlenschläger on the appearance of the poet’s first major work, Digte (Poems) in 1803. The volume contained Guldhornene (The Golden Horns), Sanct-Hansaften Spil (A Play for Midsummer Eve) and Hakon Jarls Død (The Death of Earl Hakon).  Several critics were not keen on the metaphorical qualities of the poems, with sharp sense impressions and associative combinations of words. Romanticism had arrived in Denmark. Oehlenschläger was inspired by German Romantic poetry, and when in 1805 he was awarded a state travel bursary, Goethe and Tieck were among those he visited.

When he returned home, he married Christiane Heger, the sister of Kamma Rahbek of Bakkehuset. Mrs Rahbek spoke of him as “the man with hidden talents” and introduced him to the circle of poets and officials who were regular visitors to Bakkehuset. In 1809, Oehlenschläger was given the title of Professor of Aesthetics.

Oehlenschläger was proclaimed “the King of Nordic poetry”, but public enthusiasm gradually waned, and Oehlenschläger became embroiled in a series of literary polemics with his fellow poet and rival, Jens Baggesen. He tried to counter the negative criticism by writing more. Among other things, he took part in a competition for a new national anthem in 1819 by writing Der er et yndigt Land (There is a fair land), but without winning. Only in the 1840s did he again start to regain his popularity, and on his 70th birthday he received the homage of his fellow poets.

More About Oehlenschläger

• The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Biography  
• Kalliope. Danish biography, works, contemporaries
• Bakkehusmuseet. Danish biography
• Statsbiblioteket (The State and University Library Århus). Danish reading of Guldhornene