Main Currents in 19th Century Literature

work by Brandes

Also known as: “Hovedstrømninger i det 19de aarhundredes literatur”(Show More)

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June 30, 2026

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Georg Brandes's Main Currents in 19th Century Literature (1872–90) was a seminal work that introduced literary movements like naturalism and realism to Scandinavia. Brandes, influenced by thinkers such as Hippolyte Taine and John Stuart Mill, aimed to pull Denmark out of cultural isolation. He advocated for literature to engage with reality and serve the cause of progress, sparking significant discussion and influencing writers like Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg. The work championed the idea that literature should reflect life and contemporary issues, moving away from Romantic idealism towards a more grounded and socially conscious approach.123

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Georg Brandes
(1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature). In these lectures, which catalyzed the breakthrough to realism in Danish literature, Brandes called for writers to reject the fantasy and abstract idealism of late Romanticism and instead work in the service of progressive ideas and the reform of…
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(1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature). In these lectures, which catalyzed the breakthrough to realism in Danish literature, Brandes called for writers to reject the fantasy and abstract idealism of late Romanticism and instead work in the service of progressive ideas and the reform of…
Read More

det moderne gennembrud
…det 19de aarhundredes litteratur (1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature) caused a great sensation not only in Denmark but throughout the rest of Scandinavia, and his demands that literature should concern itself with life and reality, not with fantasy, and that it should work in the service of progress…
Read More
…det 19de aarhundredes litteratur (1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature) caused a great sensation not only in Denmark but throughout the rest of Scandinavia, and his demands that literature should concern itself with life and reality, not with fantasy, and that it should work in the service of progress…
Read More