Course of events
The very beginning of The Modern is usually attributed to Georg Brandes, who already in 1869 translated the controversial essay The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill into Danish. In the following years, Brandes lectured at Copenhagen University and after that in most of Europe with criticism of romanticism. He also wrote books and articles on the subject, and especially Main Currents in 19th Century Literature , which was published in several volumes from 1872 important as a theoretical basis for the literature of the time.
A number of the other authors of the period had international contacts, and many of them lived abroad in shorter periods. In this way, there were small colonies of Scandinavian artists in cities such as Paris, Berlin and Rome, and some of the artists published literature directly in foreign languages. In any case, their works were translated much faster than previously, and the movement thus had its breakthrough.
In the 1890s, the movement was in part replaced by Symbolism, originating in many of the authors' interest in subjects of a religious or spiritual nature. But the realism in the Modern Breakthrough has influenced later authors such as Selma Lagerlöf, Johannes V. Jensen and Martin Andersen Nexø in the following years (1900–1920), which some call the popular breakthrough (Danish: "Det Folkelige Gennembrud"), because the authors in this period write about the lower rungs of society, e.g. Martin Andersen Nexø's Pelle the Conqueror , which was adapted into a film in 1987.
The cultural radical movement of 1920–1940 is often characterized as the continuation of the Modern Breakthrough, or the Modern Breakthrough as the beginning of Cultural Radicalism.
Naturalism is a literary movement beginning in the late nineteenth century, similar to literary realism in its rejection of Romanticism, but distinct in its embrace of determinism, detachment, scientific objectivism, and social commentary. Literary naturalism emphasizes observation and the scientific method in the fictional portrayal of reality. Naturalism includes detachment, in which the author maintains an impersonal tone and disinterested point of view; determinism, which is defined as the opposite of free will, in which a character's fate has been decided, even predetermined, by impersonal forces of nature beyond human control; and a sense that the universe itself is indifferent to human life. The novel would be an experiment where the author could discover and analyze the forces, or scientific laws, that influenced behavior, and these included emotion, heredity, and environment. The movement largely traces to the theories of French author Émile Zola.
Jeppe Aakjær was a Danish poet and novelist, a member of the 'Jutland Movement' in Danish literature". A regionalist, much of his writings was about his native Jutland. He was known for writings that reflected his concern for the impoverished and for describing rural existence.
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind the "Modern Breakthrough" of Scandinavian culture. At the age of 30, Brandes formulated the principles of a new realism and naturalism, condemning hyper-aesthetic writing and also fantasy in literature. His literary goals were shared by some other authors, among them the Norwegian "realist" playwright Henrik Ibsen.
Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential people in Danish history, as his philosophy gave rise to a new form of nationalism in the last half of the 19th century. It was steeped in the national literature and supported by deep spirituality.
Martin Andersen Nexø was a Danish writer. He was one of the authors in the Modern Breakthrough movement in Danish art and literature. He was a socialist throughout his life and during the Second World War moved to the Soviet Union, and afterwards to Dresden in East Germany.
Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movement.
Naja Marie Aidt is a Danish-language poet and writer.
19th-century French literature concerns the developments in French literature during a dynamic period in French history that saw the rise of Democracy and the fitful end of Monarchy and Empire. The period covered spans the following political regimes: Napoleon Bonaparte's Consulate (1799–1804) and Empire (1804–1814), the Restoration under Louis XVIII and Charles X (1814–1830), the July Monarchy under Louis Philippe d'Orléans (1830–1848), the Second Republic (1848–1852), the Second Empire under Napoleon III (1852–1871), and the first decades of the Third Republic (1871–1940).
Danish literature stretches back to the Middle Ages. The earliest preserved texts from Denmark are runic inscriptions on memorial stones and other objects, some of which contain short poems in alliterative verse. In the late 12th century Saxo Grammaticus wrote Gesta Danorum. During the 16th century, the Lutheran Reformation came to Denmark. During this era, Christiern Pedersen translated the New Testament into Danish and Thomas Kingo composed hymns. Fine poetry was created in the early 17th century by Anders Arrebo (1587–1637). The challenges faced during Denmark's absolute monarchy in 1660 are chronicled in Jammersminde 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. Neoclassical poetry, drama, and the essay flourished during the 18th century influenced by French and English trends. German influence is seen in the verse of the leading poets of the late 18th century such as Johannes Ewald and Jens Baggesen. Other 18th century writers include the hymn writer Hans Adolph Brorson and the satirical poet Johan Herman Wessel.
Literary realism is a literary genre, part of the broader realism in arts, that attempts to represent subject-matter truthfully, avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural elements. It originated with the realist art movement that began with mid-nineteenth-century French literature (Stendhal) and Russian literature. Literary realism attempts to represent familiar things as they are. Realist authors chose to depict every day and banal activities and experiences.
Amalie Skram was a Norwegian author and feminist who gave voice to a woman's point of view with her naturalist writing. In Norway, she is frequently considered the most important female writer of the Modern Breakthrough. Her more notable works include a tetralogy, Hellemyrsfolket (1887–98) which portray relations within a family over four generations.
Carl Edvard Cohen Brandes was a Danish politician, critic and author, and the younger brother of Georg Brandes and Ernst Brandes. He had a Ph.D. in eastern philology.
Illustreret Tidende was a Danish weekly illustrated magazine published from 1859 to 1924 in Denmark with international news, literature and entertainment content.
Carl Julius Aller was a Danish publisher of the late 19th and early 20th century and founder of Aller Media, the largest publisher of weekly magazines in the Nordic countries and still controlled by the Aller family.
Schack von Staffeldt or Adolph Wilhelm Schack von Staffeldt was a Danish author of two collections of poetry. He is famous for "being late", publishing his collection of poetry intended to introduce Romanticism in Denmark a year after his younger rival, Adam Oehlenschläger did it. Staffeldt was not held in high regard in his own time but is acknowledged as one of the most important Romantic Danish poets by later generations.
Vilhelm Peter Grønbech was a Danish cultural historian. He was professor of the history of religion at the University of Copenhagen and also had a great influence on Danish intellectual life, especially during and after World War II.
Morten Piil was a Danish writer and film critic. He received a Bodil Honorary Award in 2002 for his "long-standing contribution to Danish film literature".
Vilhelm Rasmus Andreas Andersen was a Danish author, literary historian and intellectual, who primarily focused on the study of Danish literature. He was one of the first to use the term "Golden Age of Culture" to refer to the 1800s, and his focus on bringing Danish literature to the public earned him great popularity. Andersen was instrumental in the development of the School of Radio, as a means of disseminating public education to prevent loss of cultural identity and treasures.
Niels Lyhne is an 1880 novel written by the Danish author Jens Peter Jacobsen.
Erik Aalbæk Jensen was a Danish writer and Lutheran minister who was awarded both the Danish Critics Prize for Literature and the Søren Gyldendal Prize for his works, most notably Perleporten.
