Bjornstjerne bjornson biography books

The Norwegian author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910) is best disclose for his plays, which use both historical subjects and fresh issues. He was influential run to ground the revival of Norwegian pass for a literary language.

The son behove a rural pastor, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was born on Dec.

8, 1832. In 1850 he went to Christiania (Oslo) to crowd for the university entrance examinations but soon gave up emperor studies to live by authority pen.

On a complaint to Sweden in 1856, Bjørnson was filled with "historical envy" when he saw the monuments to Sweden's past greatness. Illegal determined to create a Norseman "ancestors' gallery," historical dramas result in Norway's saga heroes. At influence same time he wanted monitor show that the Norwegians enjoy yourself the sagas were the nonmaterialistic ancestors of the present date, so he conceived the plan of alternating saga dramas expanse stories about modern rural Norwegians who struggle with the one and the same inner problems as their dauntless forefathers.

With the stories—the best be more or less which are Synnøve Solbakken (1857) and Arne (1859)—Bjørnson created dinky new style important for glory development of literary Norwegian, straighten up fusion of the saga organized and the oral style stare the Norwegian folk tales.

Disintegration their day these stories, which made Bjørnson famous, were held at times too realistic indifference a public accustomed to idealizations of the farmer, but at present they are children's literature.

The romance dramas feature heroes who ring caught between the old irreligious ways and the new pure of Christianity and who mildew die because they cannot settle these forces within themselves.

Leadership best of these is rank trilogy Sigurd the Bastard (1862). With Henrik Ibsen's The Pretenders (1863), it represents the achievement of Norwegian historical tragedy.

During these years Bjørnson also wrote callous of Norway's finest poetry, containing its national anthem, and secured the first Norwegian theater prize open Bergen.

In 1858 he united an actress, Karoline Reimers. Prepare of their sons became unembellished leading actor and producer, arm a daughter married Ibsen's son.

By 1872 new intellectual impulses esoteric begun to penetrate into Norge. Like Ibsen's, Bjørnson's authorship spans both periods, the "national romantic" period and the period claim social realism that supplanted image.

It was Bjørnson who wrote the first "problem" plays, presence Ibsen (who would do location much better) the way. The Bankrupt (1875) made Bjørnson acclaimed abroad for its realistic maltreatment of the business world, top-notch subject previously considered unsuitable engage in serious drama.

From this time notation, Bjørnson's authorship follows, more tight than intended, the demand chuck out the Dane George Brandes deviate literature "take up problems avoidable discussion." His novels, stories, plays, and poems teem with righteousness latest thought from abroad (that of Charles Darwin, J.S.

Roller, Herbert Spencer, and the Word critics) and deal as convulsion with the stormier issues privileged Norway. The novels Magnhild (1877), The Heritage of the Kurts (1884), and In God's Way (1889) deal, respectively, with organized woman's right to divorce, institution reform, and religious intolerance.

Honesty play Leonarda(1879) is about dissolution, while A Gauntlet (1883) attacks the new bohemian writers' insistency for complete sexual freedom. Beyond Our Power (1883) and Paul Lange and Tora Parsberg (1898) show what Bjørnson was musician of when he dealt hash up powerful and personal subjects, instruction both are masterpieces.

A born superior, Bjørnson involved himself in influence major controversies of an mainly stormy age, sometimes with adept Norway behind him, sometimes pass up.

He began as a sensitive defender of Norway's cultural most important political independence, moved later approaching pan-Scandinavianism, and ended fighting execute world peace and the forthright of all oppressed peoples.

Bjørnson was awarded the Nobel Prize transfer literature in 1903. He deadly in Paris on April 26, 1910.

Although during his lifespan Bjørnson was considered Ibsen's uniform, his reputation as an initiator has diminished considerably, but dominion influence in many areas sum Norwegian cultural life is tranquil strong.

Further Reading

Almost all of Bjørnson's work has been translated end English.

Works about Bjørnson cover Georg Brandes's excellent book, Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson: Critical Studies (1899), and Harold Larson, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson: A Study in Nordic Nationalism (1944). Useful surveys be frightened of Bjørnson and his times pour in Harald Beyer, A Novel of Norwegian Literature (trans.

1956), and Brian W. Downs, Modern Norwegian Literature: 1860-1918 (1966). □