of view, near the youngest literary generation that made its
appearance in the last ten years of the century, and who, together
with him, seem to be determining the tone of the new century’s
ouverture. The foremost of these was K n u t H a m s u n , an autodidact
of peasant birth, whose strength lies in his power to dazzle with
startling paradoxes, no less than with a sparkling verve in his
style. One after another he brought even the most particular of
his readers to his feet with his lyrically elevated descriptions of
a strange mental life, in the stories «Suit» (Hunger), «Mysteries»
and «Pan» (1890—94), in which the ego-centric passion and hallucinating
mysticism vie with one another in dominating the spirit
of the story. After one or two attempts at satire, he entered
the theatre with a dramatic trilogy, of which the central link,
«Livets spil» (The Play of Life) produced an extremely bizarre
effect hy the extravagant figure of the heroine, and the flickering
changes of its moods. On the other hand, his latest book, «Victoria»
reads like an adagio from beginning to end.
We also meet with a mystical spirit in the sombre stories
both of the decadence psychologist, A b n e D y b f e s t (died 1892),
and the broadly epic writer, T h o m a s K b a g . They have each created
their own poetic prose. Thomas Krag has gradually won a place
in the foremost ranks of the favourite authors of the public
by his novel-cycle, «Mulm» (Gloom) and «Kobberslangen» (The
Brazen Serpent), «Ada Wilde», «Ulf Ban», «Beates hus» and
«Enken» (The Widow). gf- The mystical is a conspieious element in
S ig b j o b n O b s t f e l d e b ’s quiet novellettes, «Liv» (Life), «Sletten» (The
Plain) and «Korset» (The Cross); but the action here evaporates
in the poetic fire that glows in the description. Obstfelder is a
pronounced lyric poet; in melancholy musing he gazes into the
quivering life of the soul, and sings his sudden visions in strangely
rhythmical cadences. N i l s C o l l e t t V o g t , on the othei hand,
possesses the jubilant gift of song; and his silvery clear verse
swells with Hellenic joy in a rushing life. Vogt has also, in a
story, shown himself to be touched by the undaunted naturalism
that marks T h e o d o b M a d s e n ’s and G a b b i e l E i n n e ’s (died 1899)
descriptions of sad young life. V i l h e l m K b a g sings to his softly-
tuned lyre white grief in melodious strophes. He has also, in a
number of novels ^¿«Hjemve» (Home-sickness), «Den glade loit-
nant» (the Gay Lieutenant), «Bakel Strom met -H- and a play —
«Den sidste dag» (The Last Day) — affected a deep inquiry into rare
psychological phenomena. Novels of a somewhat similar nature
were also written by Pru A n n a M u n c h , Broken A l v i l d e P b y d z ,
B e b n t L i e and P e t e b E g g e . The gently vibrating humour with
which the last named has also drawn little pictures of the life
of unimportant people, has appeared in H a n s A a n b u d in full
maturity. This author's short and clearly drawn studies of the
people of his native district, constitute a series of incomparable
works; while his exuberant comedy, «Storken» (The Stork), denotes
the entry of hearty laughter into our usually so solemn theatre.
H a n s K in c k , with more exciting and deeper fancy, but without
that inborn assurance in his sensitiveness for style, has painted
his richly-coloured pictures of the cultural awakening going on in
remote country districts. His lyrical inspirations when describing
the terror of the lonely waste, the outbreak of the devil in the
human nature, the rush of longing, the intoxicating song of the
summer air, no less than his undaunted courage in sounding the
depths of disordered souls, have given him a prominent place
among those young artists who will give its character to the first
literary phase of the new century.
The stem epic writer T b y g g v e A n d e b s e n occupie's a special
position in the large group whose most important representatives
have already been briefly described. In his youthful lyrical writings
he revealed indeed a closer relationship with the dominating tendency
of the artistic views of this group; bu t. in his great historical
romance : «Era Kancelliraadens dage» (Erom the Chancery Counsellor’s
Days) (1897) he also shows a natural disposition for
objective description in plain narrative.
In concluding this short survey, we enter upon a field of
literature which has nothing to do with passing moods and feelings,
but consists either of a statement of facts, or of argumentative
criticism. We may then remark that at the very beginning of the
present generation, E b n s t S a b s , in his intellectual «Udsigt over
det norske folks historie» (A Survey of the History of the Norwegian
People) and J o h . P. W e i s s e (died 1886) in his fascinating
lives of the Boman Caesars, began to apply an artistic, treatment
of accounts based upon detailed scientific research. The same course
was followed by the literature and art historian, L o b b n t z D i e t b i c h -
s o n , by S o p h u s B u g g e in his original interpretation of the «Edda»,
hy Wergeland’s biographer, H a b t v ig L a s s e n (died 1897), by O l a f
S k a v l a n (died 1891) in his commentaries on Holberg and Werge-
33