Literary and Theatrical Influences

Abstract

Norway, in the nineteenth century, faced the task of developing a national identity in politics, literature and the theatre. Until the Napoleonic wars, Norway had been ruled for four hundred years by Denmark; its cultural and social life was accordingly dominated by Danish example. After 1814, when Swedish troops crossed the border and imposed a political union on Norway, the struggle for political independence was directed against the Swedish crown. However, Denmark retained its dominant influence over Norwegian literature, theatre and language. Early in the century, writers were completely dependent upon Danish tastes, even to the extent of using a language whose grammar and orthography were almost indistinguishable from Danish. By the end of the century, a recognisably Norwegian body of literature had been written, a strong Norwegian theatre had been established and language reforms had helped to create a modern Norwegian language that was distinct from Danish. (Norway is still beset by language problems that date from the nineteenth century, with the Western part of the country claiming that its form of Norwegian known as ‘nynorsk’ is more genuinely Norwegian than the Danish inspired ‘riksmål’ of the Eastern provinces.)