Johannes Carsten Hauch (12 May 1790 – 4 March 1872) was a
Danish poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
.
Biography
Hauch was born in
Frederikshald in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. His father was the Danish
bailiff
A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary.
Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
in
Smaalenene,
Frederik Hauch. His mother,
Karen Tank was sister of Norwegian ship merchant and parliament president
Carsten Tank. In 1802 Hauch lost his mother, and in 1803 returned with his father to Denmark. In 1807 he fought as a volunteer against the English invasion. He entered the
university of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
in 1808, and in 1821 took his doctors degree. He became the friend and associate of
Steffens and
Oehlenschläger, warmly adopting the romantic views about poetry and
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
.
His first two dramatic poems, ''The Journey to Ginistan'' and ''The Power of Fancy'', appeared in 1816, and were followed by a lyrical drama, ''Rosaurn'' (1817); but these works attracted little or no attention. Hauch therefore gave up all hope of fame as a poet, and resigned himself entirely to the study of science. He took his doctors degree in
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
in 1821, and went abroad to pursue his studies. At
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...]
, but returned to Copenhagen when war broke out in 1848. About this time his dramatic talent was at its height, and he produced one admirable tragedy after another; among these may be mentioned ''Svend Grathe'' (1841); ''The Sisters at Kinnekullen'' (1849); ''Marshal Sag'' (1850); ''Honour Lost and Won'' (1851) and ''Tycho Brahe's Youth'' (1852). From 1858 to 1860 Hauch was director of the Danish National Theatre; he produced three more tragedies: ''The King's Favourite'' (1859); ''Henry of Navarre'' (1863); and ''Julian the Apostate'' (1866). In 1861 he published another collection of ''Lyrical Poems and Romances'' and in 1862 the historical epic of ''Valdemar Seir''.
From 1851, when he succeeded Oehlenschläger, to his death, he held the honorary post of professor of
aesthetics
Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
at the university of Copenhagen. He died in Rome in 1872, and was buried at the
Cimitero acattolico.
Hauch was one of the most prolific of the Danish poets. His lyrics and romances in verse are always line in form and often strongly imaginative. In all his writings, but especially in his tragedies, he displays a strong bias in favor of what is mystical and supernatural. Of his dramas ''Marshal Stig'' is perhaps the best, and of his novels the patriotic tale of ''Vilhelm Zabern'' is admired the most.
Hauch's novels were collected (1873–1874) and his dramatic works (3 volumes, 2nd edition, 1852–1859).
References
* This work in turn cites:
**
Georg Brandes, ''Carsten Hauch'' (1873) in ''Danske Digtere'' (1877)
** F. Rønning, ''J. C. Hauch'' (1890)
** ''Dansk Biografisk-Lexicon'', (volume vii. Copenhagen, 1893)
Poemsby Johannes Carsten Hauch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauch, Carsten
1790 births
1872 deaths
Danish male dramatists and playwrights
Danish male poets
University of Copenhagen alumni
19th-century Danish poets
19th-century Danish dramatists and playwrights
19th-century Danish male writers