Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Infobox Writer
name = Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
awards = awd|Nobel Prize in Literature|1903


imagesize = 200px
birthdate = birth date|1832|12|8|df=y
birthplace = Kvikne, Norway
deathdate = death date and age|1910|4|26|1832|12|8|df=y
deathplace = Paris, France
occupation = Poet, novelist, playwright, lyricist
nationality = Norwegian

Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson (8 December, 183226 April, 1910) was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of "The Great Four" Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland.Fact|date=April 2008 Bjørnson is celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".

Childhood and education

Bjørnson was born at the farmstead of Bjørgen in Kvikne, a secluded village in the Østerdalen district, some sixty miles south of Trondheim. In 1837 Bjørnson's father, who was the pastor of Kvikne, was transferred to the parish of Nesset, outside Molde in Romsdal. It was in this scenic district that Bjørnson spent his childhood. After a few years studying in the neighboring city Molde, Bjørnson was sent to Heltbergs Studentfabrikk in Christiania to prepare for university, at the age of 17. He had realized that he wanted to pursue his talent for poetry (he had written verses since age eleven). Bjørnson matriculated at the University of Oslo in 1852, soon embarking upon a career as a journalist, focusing on criticism of drama.

Early production

In 1857 Bjørnson published "Synnøve Solbakken", the first of his peasant novels. In 1858 this was followed by "Arne", in 1860 by "En glad Gut" (A Happy Boy), and in 1868 by "Fiskerjenten" (The Fisher Maiden). These are the most important specimens of his "bonde-fortellinger" or peasant tales.

Bjørnson was anxious "to create a new saga in the light of the peasant," as he put it, and he thought this should be done, not merely in prose fiction, but in national dramas or "folke-stykker". The earliest of these was a one-act piece set in the 12th century, "Mellem Slagene" (Between the Battles), written in 1855 and produced in 1857. He was especially influenced at this time by the study of Jens Immanuel Baggesen and Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, during a visit to Copenhagen. "Mellem Slagene" was followed by "Halte-Hulda" (Lame Hulda) in 1858, and "Kong Sverre" (King Sverre) in 1861. His most important work to date was the poetic trilogy of "Sigurd Slembe" (Sigurd the Bad), which Bjørnson published in 1862.

The mature author

At the close of 1857 Bjørnson had been appointed director of the theater at Bergen, a post which he held for two years, when he returned to Christiania. From 1860 to 1863 he traveled widely throughout Europe. Early in 1865 he undertook the management of the Christiania theatre, and brought out his popular comedy of "De Nygifte" (The Newly Married) and his romantic tragedy of Mary Stuart in Scotland. In 1870 he published "Poems and Songs" and the epic cycle "Arnljot Gelline"; the latter volume contains the ode "Bergliot", one of Bjørnson's finest contributions to lyrical poetry.

Between 1864 and 1874, Bjørnson displayed a slackening of the intellectual forces very remarkable in a man of his energy; he was mainly occupied with politics and with his business as a theatrical manager. This was the period of Bjørnson's most fiery propaganda as a radical agitator. In 1871 he began to supplement his journalistic work by delivering lectures throughout Scandinavia.

From 1874 to 1876 Bjørnson was absent from Norway, and in the peace of voluntary exile he recovered his imaginative powers. His new departure as a dramatic author began with "En fallit" (A Bankruptcy) and "Redaktøren" (The Editor) in 1874, social dramas of an extremely modern and realistic cast.

The "national poet"

Bjørnson settled on his estate of Aulestad in Gausdal. In 1877 he published another novel, "Magnhild", in which his ideas on social questions were seen to be in a state of fermentation, and gave expression to his republican sentiments in the polemical play "Kongen" (The King). In a later edition of the play, he prefixed an essay on "Intellectual Freedom" in further explanation of his position. "Kaptejn Mansana" (Captain Mansana), an episode of the war of Italian independence, was written in to 1878.

Extremely anxious to obtain full success on the stage, Bjørnson concentrated his powers on a drama of social life, "Leonarda" (1879), which raised a violent controversy. A satirical play, "Det nye System" (The New System), was produced a few weeks later. Although these plays of Bjørnson's second period were greatly discussed, few were financially successful.

Bjørnson produced a social drama, "En Handske" (A Gauntlet), in 1883, but was unable to persuade any manager to stage it except in a modified form. In the autumn of the same year, Bjørnson published a mystical or symbolic drama "Over Ævne" (Beyond Powers), dealing with the abnormal features of religious excitement with extraordinary force; this was not acted until 1899, when it achieved a great success.

Political interests

From his youth and forwards, Bjørnson admired Henrik Wergeland, and became a vivid spokesman for the Norwegian Left-wing movement. In this respect, he supported Ivar Aasen, and joined forces in the political struggles in the 1860s and -70s. When the great monument over Henrik Wergeland were to be erected in 1881, it came to political struggle between left and right, and the left-wing got the upper hand. Bjørnson held the speech on behalf of Wergeland, and also honouring the constitution and the farmers.

Bjørnson's political opinions had brought upon him a charge of high treason, and he took refuge for a time in Germany, returning to Norway in 1882. Convinced that the theater was practically closed to him, he turned back to the novel, and published in 1884 "Det flager i Byen og paa Havnen" (Flags are Flying in Town and Port), embodying his theories on heredity and education. In 1889 he printed another long and still more remarkable novel, "Paa Guds veje" (On God's Path), which is chiefly concerned with the same problems. The same year saw the publication of a comedy, "Geografi og Kærlighed" (Geography and Love), which met with success.

A number of short stories, of a more or less didactic character, dealing with startling points of emotional experience, were collected and published 1894. Later plays were a political tragedy called "Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg" (1898), a second part of "Over Ævne" (Beyond Powers II) (1895), "Laboremus" (1901), "På Storhove" (At Storhove) (1902), and "Daglannet" (Dag's Farm) (1904). In 1899, at the opening of the National Theatre, Bjørnson received an ovation, and his saga-drama of Sigurd the Crusader was performed at the opening of Nationaltheatret in Oslo.

A subject which interested him greatly was the question of the bondemaal, the adopting of a national language for Norway distinct from the "dansk-norsk" (Dano-Norwegian), in which most Norwegian literature had hitherto been written. At an early stage, before 1860, Bjørnson had himself experimented with at least one short story written in landsmål. The interest, however, did not last, and he soon abandoned this enterprise altogether. Afterwards, he regretted that he never felt he gained the mastery of this language. Bjørnson's strong and sometimes rather narrow patriotism did not blind him to what he considered the fatal folly of such a proposal, and his lectures and pamphlets against the "målstræv" in its extreme form were very effective. His attitude towards this must have changed sometime after 1881, as he still spoke on behalf of the farmers at this point. Although he seems to have been supportive of Ivar Aasen and friendly towards farmers (in the peasant-novels), he later denounced this, and stated in 1899 that there was limits to a farmer's cultivation. "I can draw a line on the wall. The farmer can cultivate himself to this level, and no more", he wrote in 1899. Rumour has it that he had been insulted by a farmer at some point, and came with the statement in sheer anger. In 1881, he spoke of the farmer`s clothing borne by Henrik Wergeland, and his opinion then states that this garment, worn by Wergeland, was "of the most influential things" in the initiation of the national day. Bjørnson`s attitude towards the farmers remain ambiguous. One has to remember that his father himself was a farmers son.

Last years

Bjørnson was, from the beginning of the Dreyfus Affair, a staunch supporter of Alfred Dreyfus, and, according to a contemporary, wrote "article after article in the papers and proclaimed in every manner his belief in his innocence".

Bjørnson was one of the original members of the Nobel Committee, and was re-elected in 1900. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Bjørnson had done as much as any other man to rouse Norwegian national feeling, but in 1903, on the verge of the rupture between Norway and Sweden, he preached conciliation and moderation to the Norwegians.

He died on 26 April, 1910 in Paris, where for some years he had spent his winters, and was buried at home with every mark of honour. The Norwegian coastal defence ship HNoMS "Norge" was sent to convey his remains back to his own land.

References

External links

* [http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1903/index.html Nobel Prize bio]
*
* [http://www.odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/history/032005-990483/index-dok000-b-n-a.html Biography from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
* (A biographical essay, 1910, by William Morton Payne, a translator of various works by Bjørnson.)

Persondata
NAME= Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne Martinus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Norwegian writer
DATE OF BIRTH= December 8, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH= Kvikne, Norway
DATE OF DEATH= April 26, 1910
PLACE OF DEATH= Paris


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Björnstjerne Björnson — Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (* 8. Dezember 1832 in Kvikne (Tynset), Hedmark; † 26. April 1910 in Paris) war ein norwegischer Dichter, Literaturnobelpreisträger und Politiker. Bjørnson verfasste unter anderem die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson — (Fotografie aus dem Jahr 1901) Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (* 8. Dezember 1832 in Kvikne (Tynset), Hedmark; † 26. April 1910 in Paris) war ein norwegischer Dichter, Literaturnobelpreisträger und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bjornstjerne Bjornson — Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson — Naissance 8 décembre 1832 Décès 26 avril 1910 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson en 1901 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Bjørnstjerne — Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (* 8. Dezember 1832 in Kvikne (Tynset), Hedmark; † 26. April 1910 in Paris) war ein norwegischer Dichter, Literaturnobelpreisträger und Politiker. Bjørnson verfasste unter anderem die norwegische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Björnson — Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (* 8. Dezember 1832 in Kvikne (Tynset), Hedmark; † 26. April 1910 in Paris) war ein norwegischer Dichter, Literaturnobelpreisträger und Politiker. Bjørnson verfasste unter anderem die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson — Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bjornson — Bjornson, Bjørnson, Bjørnsen, Björnsson and variations can refer to the following people:;Icelanders *Ármann Smári Björnsson, Icelandic footballer (soccer player) *Björn Th. Björnsson, Icelandic writer *Georgia Björnsson (1884–1957), Danish born… …   Wikipedia

  • Bjørnson — ist ein patronymisch gebildeter norwegischer Familienname mit der Bedeutung „Sohn des Bjørn“. Namensträger Bjørn Bjørnson (1859–1942), norwegischer Schauspieler, Regisseur, Dramatiker und Theaterleiter Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”