Adam Oehlenschläger (1779-1850)

Adam Oehlenschläger grew up in Frederiksberg Castle: his father was the organist in Frederiksberg Church and later became steward of the castle After completing his schooling in 1796, Oehlenschäger tried his skill for a couple of years as an actor in the Royal Theatre, but without success. Inspired by his friends Hans Christian and Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Oehlenschäger took a preliminary examination in Latin and Law. Alongside his studies he wrote poems and soon became absorbed into the cultural life of Copenhagen.

 

In 1801, Oehlenschäger was awarded a silver medal for a competition for writing a dissertation on The Desirability of Replacing Greek with Old Norse in Danish Literature. It was at this time that he started visiting Bakkehuset, where he was encouraged and inspired as an artist and at the same time built up a close friendship especially with Kamma Rahbek. He also met Kamma’s sister, Christiane Heger (1782-1841) in Bakkehuset, marrying her in 1810 after a long engagement. That year, he was appointed Professor of Aesthetics in Copenhagen University.

 

Oehlenschäger is the representative par excellence of Romanticism in the history of Danish literature, and he was profoundly inspired to write his Romantic programme poem The Golden Horns by some pioneering lectures on natural philosophy delivered in Elers Kollegium by the philosopher Heinrich Steffens. The poem is about the golden horns that had been stolen from the Royal Kunstkammer and melted down, and it is held to be the breakthrough of High Romanticism in Danish literature. It was published in 1803 in Oehlenschäger’s volume of poems entitled Digte (Poems), which reflect the Romantics’ preoccupation with subjects such as love, nature, history, nationality and not least the creative power of the poetic genius. The cult of the artist is especially expressed in Oehlenschäger’s drama Aladdin, while his historical awareness is reflected in a work such as Valundurs Saga.

 

Between 1805 and 1809, Oehlenschäger went on a grand tour of Europe, during which he visited his great model, the German poet Goethe in Weimar. The journey also took him to Dresden, Paris and Rome. After his return, Oehlenschläger had for several years to battle with poor finances. Then there was also the literary feud in which the poet Jens Baggesen criticised Oehlenschäger’s artistic ability. This feud continued from 1813 to 1820 and involved almost everyone in the literary environment in Copenhagen.

 

However, Oehlenschäger had a fresh success during the last part of his life, and his financial situation improved. The culmination of his career as an artist came in 1847 when he was praised by the Swedish poet Esaias Tegnér as “The Poet King of the North” in the Cathedral in Lund, and again when on his 70th birthday he was crowned with a laurel wreath and once more praised by great Danish poets such as Johan Ludvig Heiberg and N.F.S. Grundtvig.