Jens Immanuel Baggesen
Encyclopedia
Jens Immanuel Baggesen was a Danish
poet
.
. His parents were very poor, and before he was twelve he was sent to copy documents at the office of the clerk of the district. He was a melancholy, feeble child, and before this he had attempted suicide
more than once. By dint of indomitable perseverance, he managed to gain an education, and in 1782 entered the university of Copenhagen
.
brought out a decade later, took the town by storm, and the struggling young poet found himself a popular favourite at twenty-one.
He then tried serious lyrical writing, and his tact, elegance of manner and versatility, gained him a place in the best society.
This success received a blow in March 1789, when an opera, Holger Danske
, which he had written, was received with heated controversy and a nationalist reaction against him (as an associate of Germans) set in. He left Denmark in a rage and spent the next years in Germany
, France
and Switzerland
. He married at Bern in 1790, began to write in German
and published in that language his next poem, Alpenlied.
In the winter of the same year he returned to his Denmark, bringing with him as a peace-offering his fine descriptive poem, the Labyrinth, in Danish
, and was received with unbounded homage.
latterly becoming his nominal home. He continued to publish volumes alternately in Danish and German. Of the latter the most important was the idyllic epos in hexameter
s called Parthenais (1803).
In 1806 he returned to Copenhagen to find the young Adam Oehlenschläger
installed as the great poet of the day, and he himself beginning to lose his previously unbounded popularity. Until 1820 he resided in Copenhagen
, in almost unceasing literary feud with some one or other, abusing and being abused; the most important feature of the whole being Baggesen's determination not to allow Oehlenschläger to be considered a greater poet than himself.
on his way and was buried at Kiel
.
and Oehlenschläger. Especially significant is his song "There Was a Time When I Was Very Little," which remains popular nearly two hundred years after his death. It has outlived all his epics.
There is a statue of Baggesen on Havnepladsen in Korsør, unveiled on 6 May 1906, by Professor Vilhelm Andersen. Not far away on Batterivej is the Best Western Jens Baggesen Hotel named after him.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Early life and education
Baggesen was born at KorsørKorsør
Korsør is a Danish town and port. It is out on the Great Belt, on the Zealand side, just south of where the Great Belt Bridge lands. It was the site of the municipal council of Korsør municipality - today it is part of Slagelse municipality...
. His parents were very poor, and before he was twelve he was sent to copy documents at the office of the clerk of the district. He was a melancholy, feeble child, and before this he had attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
more than once. By dint of indomitable perseverance, he managed to gain an education, and in 1782 entered the university of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
.
Breakthrough and adversity
His success as a writer was coeval with his earliest publication; his Comical Tales in verse, poems that recall the Broad Grins that Colman the youngerGeorge Colman the Younger
George Colman , known as "the Younger", English dramatist and miscellaneous writer, was the son of George Colman "the Elder".-Life:...
brought out a decade later, took the town by storm, and the struggling young poet found himself a popular favourite at twenty-one.
He then tried serious lyrical writing, and his tact, elegance of manner and versatility, gained him a place in the best society.
This success received a blow in March 1789, when an opera, Holger Danske
Holger Danske (opera)
Holger Danske is the title of a 1789 Syngespil opera based on the Oberon myth, with music by F.L.Æ. Kunzen and a Danish libretto by Jens Baggesen.-Synopsis:...
, which he had written, was received with heated controversy and a nationalist reaction against him (as an associate of Germans) set in. He left Denmark in a rage and spent the next years in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He married at Bern in 1790, began to write in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and published in that language his next poem, Alpenlied.
In the winter of the same year he returned to his Denmark, bringing with him as a peace-offering his fine descriptive poem, the Labyrinth, in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, and was received with unbounded homage.
Twenty years of travelling
The next twenty years were spent in incessant restless wanderings over the north of Europe, ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
latterly becoming his nominal home. He continued to publish volumes alternately in Danish and German. Of the latter the most important was the idyllic epos in hexameter
Hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, hexameter...
s called Parthenais (1803).
In 1806 he returned to Copenhagen to find the young Adam Oehlenschläger
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature.-Biography:He was born in Vesterbro, then a suburb of Copenhagen, on 14 November 1779...
installed as the great poet of the day, and he himself beginning to lose his previously unbounded popularity. Until 1820 he resided in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, in almost unceasing literary feud with some one or other, abusing and being abused; the most important feature of the whole being Baggesen's determination not to allow Oehlenschläger to be considered a greater poet than himself.
Last years
He then left Denmark for the last time and went back to his beloved Paris, where he lost his second wife and youngest child in 1822, and after the miseries of an imprisonment for debt, fell at last into a state of hopeless melancholy madness. In 1826, having slightly recovered, he wished to see Denmark once more, but died in the freemasons' hospital at HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
on his way and was buried at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
.
Legacy
His many-sided talents achieved success in all forms of writing, but his domestic, philosophical and critical works have long ceased to occupy attention. A little more power of restraining his egotism and passion would have made him one of the wittiest and keenest of modern satirists, and his comic poems are timeless. Danish literature owes Baggesen a great debt for the firmness, polish and form which he introduced into it—his style being always finished and elegant. With all his faults he stands as the greatest figure between HolbergLudvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...
and Oehlenschläger. Especially significant is his song "There Was a Time When I Was Very Little," which remains popular nearly two hundred years after his death. It has outlived all his epics.
There is a statue of Baggesen on Havnepladsen in Korsør, unveiled on 6 May 1906, by Professor Vilhelm Andersen. Not far away on Batterivej is the Best Western Jens Baggesen Hotel named after him.