Baggesen

Baggesen, JENS, a well-known Danish poet, but who also has a place in German literature, was born at Korsør, in the island of Zealand, February 15, 1764. While still a student at Copenhagen, he made a reputation as a poet by his lyrics and Comic Tales (1785). He made a lengthened tour through Germany, Switzerland, and France, and from this time German was to him a second mother-tongue. In 1811 he was appointed professor of Danish Language and Literature at Kiel; but three years after he removed to Copenhagen, where he became involved in an unseemly strife with Oehlenschläger, and in 1820 he left Denmark, never to return, for he died at Hamburg, October 3, 1826, whilst on his homeward way. His most important work is his idyllic epic, Parthenais oder die Alpenreise (1804), which contains single passages of great beauty. Baggesen possessed little lyrical genius, though many of the poems are admirable. He was strong in satire, and maintained a powerful polemic against the extravagances of the German romantic poets. The sphere in which he shone most conspicuously was the serio-comic. His so-called 'humorous epic' of Adam and Eve, published shortly after his death, is a singular mixture of humour, pathos, and levity. His style is excellent, and in this respect the Danish language owes much to him. His German works fill 5 vols. (1836); his Danish, 12 (new ed. 1845-48). See his Life by his son (4 vols. 1849-56); and Arentzen, Baggesen og Oehlenschläger (8 vols. Cop. 1870-78).