Jeppe Aakjær

Jeppe Aakjær

Jeppe Aakjær [ ˈɔːkεːr ]; actually Jeppe Jensen (born September 10, 1866 in Aakjær near Fly , today Viborg Kommune , † April 22, 1930 on the Jenle farm near Skive ) was a Danish poet and writer . He is considered one of the leading representatives of Danish native literature .

Life

Aakjær grew up as the son of a poor heather farmer in Jutland and was therefore familiar with the tough working conditions in the countryside. From an early age he was drawn to the world of books. He attended folk high school and in 1884 took part in an exam course for secondary school in Copenhagen . There he became an active member of socialist and atheist circles. Aakjær, a registered member of the Social Democratic Party, remained active in social policy all his life. His literary debut was not a work of fiction, but a pamphlet against the Inner Mission .

Even as a young man he gave agitational lectures, for which he had to go to prison for seventeen days in 1887. He was influenced by reading the works of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson , Georg Brandes and Charles Darwin , whose thoughts Aakjær propagated in his novels. Various short-term jobs as a folk high school teacher (dismissal due to interdenominational classes) and social democratic journalist followed. In 1895 he began to study history in Copenhagen . In 1893 he married the later writer Marie Bregendahl (the marriage was divorced in 1900).

After economically difficult years, he made his debut as a poet and prose writer in 1899. Since then he has lived as a freelance writer and developed into one of the most important of the so-called "popular realists". In 1906 Aakjær traveled through Scotland in the footsteps of Robert Burns , whom he admired . From 1907 he managed together with his second wife, the homestead Jenle (jütländisch for "lonely, separated"), on which he used his native folklore and the year-to-large his death scene of Jutland festivals was how they set an example Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson organized .

Today, Jenle Farm, where Aakjær and his wife were buried, is a museum. Since 1980, Aakjær's tradition of annual folk festivals, which always included speeches and musical performances, has been resumed.

Works

Poetry

Aakjær's lyric work is of central importance for Danish native literature. His topic is the heather and the frugal heather farmers , the simple, hard, but also beautiful life in the country. In front of the volume of poetry Rugens sange , he put a meaningful quote from the biblical book Amos as the motto : I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I am a shepherd and a man who collects wild mulberries. ( Am 7.14  EU ) Many of his always singable poems are written in the Jutland dialect .

Aakjær began as a socialist agitator with battle songs such as Tyendesangen (rabble song ) and Kommer i snart (Come on quickly ). Throughout his life he wrote political poetry again and again, such as the song Her kommer fra Dybet den mørke Armé! (Here comes the dark army from the depths!). Most of his poetry, however, is about a pre-industrial world that is seen as idyllic, in which man lives in harmony with nature.

Formally, it is based on the folk song tradition and the poems of Thomas Kingo and Steen Steensen Blicher (about whom Aakjær wrote a biography), but also on the poetry of Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson , Henrik Ibsen and Holger Drachmann . Robert Burns , from whom he translated poems (including the famous Auld Lang Syne ) into Danish, was of particular importance to him . For Aakjær, Burn's poems were a model for poetry that expressed natural bliss in a popular way, but at the same time was open to social indignation.

To ensure that his poems could always be set to music and singed, Aakjær used a self-developed melody template. Typical stylistic features are the use of multiple repetitions and artful use of rhymes. Many of his poems were set to music, for example by Carl Nielsen . These songs ensured Aakjær's verses spread throughout Denmark. They are part of the song inventory there to this day.

Udvalgte Digte (1956)

Aakjær's first poems appeared in 1899. His famous collection of poetry "Rugens Sange" [Songs of Rye] was printed in 1906 and had editions of over 100,000 copies. Aakjær's "Gesammelte Gedichte" came in three volumes in 1931; The publisher Gyldendal printed a generally valid edition “Poems in Selection” in 1956. In contrast to some of his novels, the poems have not yet been translated into German [December 2014]. Many of these texts are still a permanent fixture in the Danish public, in school music and especially in the Danish higher education movement (Danish folk high school in the tradition of Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig ) with its own hymn book, Højskolesangbogen , in various editions since 1894, newest 18th edition 2006. In a good sense, Aakjær's novels and especially his popular poems are “Heimatliteratur”. He sings about the "simple but [mostly or from a certain perspective] beautiful life" in the country, and he uses a language that is based on the Jutland dialect (including "new creations" [see these markings below]) and is usually outstandingly singable (language “in folksong tone” with simple stanzas, repetitions of parts of sentences, rhyme ties, repeated use of allied rhymes).

"Jylland" [Jutland]: "The dukker af Disen min Fædrenejord med Aaser og Agre og Eng ..." [The land of my fathers with hills and fields and meadows ...], p. 13-16, was created 1901/1904 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, No. 241 (melody by Carl Nielsen, 1917). - "Min Hjemmen" [My "home"]: "Jeg er født paa Jyllands Sletter, the hvor Lam af Lyngen nipper ..." [I was born on Jutland Heath, where the lamb nibbles on the heather ...], pp. 17-18 , created in 1901. - "Bondevise" [farmer's song]: "Jeg lagde min Gaard i den rygende Blæst, hvor Bakken hun skraaner mod Sønder ..." [I built my farm in the biting wind, where the hill drops to the south ...], p 70–71, written in 1906 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no. 242 (melody by professor Thorvald Aagaard [1877–1937], 1910). - "Jeg lægger mig i Læet her ved Storrugens Rod ..." [I'm lying here in the windbreak of the long-stemmed rye ...], p. 120, created in 1906 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no. 303 (melody by E. Bangert, 1910). - "Stille, Hjærte, Sol gaar ned, Sol gaar ned paa Heden ..." [Still, my heart, the sun goes down, goes down on the heather ...], p. 162, written in 1912 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no (Melody by the hymn composer Thomas Laub [1852-1927], 1915). - “Yeah he Havren. Jeg har Bjælder paa, mer end tyve, tror jeg, paa hvert Straa… “[I am the oats. I have bells on, more than twenty, I think, on every stalk…], pp. 173–175, composed in 1916 and one of the most popular texts by Aakjær, also as a school song = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, No. 364 (melody by Aksel Agerby , 1916). - "Nordovst" [The north «west» wind]: "Sneflokke kommer vrimlende hen over Diger trimlende ..." [Snowflakes stumble over the fields ...], made in 1916, pp. 180–181 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no. 264 (Melody by Th. Aagaard, 1916). - "Ole sad paa en Knold og sang ..." [Ole sat on a hill and sang, sheep and rams jumped around him. There was a whistle in the heather, clouds moved, wanderlust seized the heart…], pp. 205–206, written in 1899 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no. 360 (melody by Alf / Alf. Toft [correct: Alfred Tofft], 1911).

Even when Aakjær depicts a pre-industrial world in an idyllic way, he always does so (like his English role model Robert Burns) with social commitment for the oppressed and disadvantaged ordinary worker and servant. "Jens Vejmand" [Jens, the road worker, stone knocker]: "Hvem sidder der bag Skjærmen, med Klude om sin Haand ..." [Who is sitting there behind the umbrella, with rags around his hands ... he is cutting wild sparks from the morning-damp stone ... his life was full of stone - in death he received no {but only a simple wooden cross}], pp. 234–235, composed in 1905, one of the most famous socially critical texts by Aakjær = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, no. 361 (melody by Carl Nielsen, 1907). For example, this text with all 6 stanzas was printed in Copenhagen in 1909 as a cheap song pamphlet, distributed in town and country, and this also made the song text popular. - "For læng, læng are [« Long, long ago »]"; according to Robert Burns: "Skuld gammel Venskab rejn forgo ..." ["Should" old friendship "completely pass away" ...], pp. 264–265, written in 1922 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, No. 365 (Scottish folk melody, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot ... "). - "Sundt Blod" [Healthy blood]: "Jeg bærer med Smil min Byrde, any drager med Sang with Læs ..." [I carry my burden with a smile, I pull my burden with a song ...], p. 313, written in 1906 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog 1986, No. 363 (melody by Carl Nielsen, 1915). - The adult education hymn book contains further lyrics by Aakjær that are not in the above selection. The selection of Aakjær's texts in the various editions is also different; but it is one of the “classics” of this collection that has shaped the general repertoire in schools and the public.

Novels

Aakjær's novels and stories are also about the world of farmers and farm workers. He writes with a tendency towards social agitation and gives unmistakable expression of his deeply felt indignation at any kind of oppression and incapacitation, whether by church or state. Aakjær's earlier, semi-autobiographical novel Bondens søn shows Christianity as an obstacle on the way to inner freedom.

Aakjær's most important novel is Vredens Børn . In it he realizes the intention of modern realism , which explains the formation of individuals through their social environment, and combines them with traditional narrative styles, lively dialogues and an extremely vivid, documentary-authentic representation of the rural world. In no other work in Danish literature is the inhumane conditions faced by the servants in the country so heavily criticized. The book had an enormous political impact and contributed to the implementation of far-reaching reforms, but against bitter resistance: In more than 1,000 letters to the editor and newspaper articles protested against Aakjær's portrayal of rural life.

Ironically, Aakjær's struggle for reform led to the irrevocable destruction of the old Jutland world that he loved: the “Danish Heath Society” helped the poor cottagers convert the heather into farmland. In later prose works, Aakjær warned against the industrialization of agriculture ( e.g. in Arbejdets glæde ).

Works

• 1897: Missions og dens høvding (combat script)
• 1899: Bondens søn (novel)
• 1899: Derude fra kjærene (poems)
• 1900: Vadmelsfolk (short stories)
• 1901: Fjandboer (short stories)
• 1903f .: Steen Steensen Blichers livstragedie i breve og aktstykker (biography in 3 volumes)
• 1904: Vredens børn (novel, Die Kinder des Zorns, German 1912)
• 1905: Fri felt (poems)
• 1906: Rugens sange og andre digte (poems)
• 1907: Livet på Hegnsgård (drama)
• 1908: Hvor Bønder bor (novel)
• 1909: Muld og malm (poems)
• 1909: Ulvens søn (drama)
• 1910: Den sommer og den eng (poems)
• 1911: Når bønder elsker (drama)
• 1913: Esper tækki (poems)
• 1914: Arbejdets glæde (novel)
• 1915: Jens Langkniv (novel)
• 1915: Hedevandringer (folklore non-fiction book)
• 1916: Vejr og vind og folkesind (poems)
• 1916: Hvor der er gjærende kræfter (novel, fermenting forces, German 1929)
• 1918f .: Samlede værker (collected works in 8 volumes)
• 1919: Glimmersand (poems)
• 1920: En daad (poems)
• 1921: Hjertegræs og ærenpris (poems)
• 1921: Pigen fra Limfjorden (novel)
• 1924: Hejmdals vandringer (poems)
• 1926: Jakob og hans Sønner (poems)
• 1927: Under aftenstjernen (poems)
• 1928f .: Erindringer (autobiography in 3 volumes)
• 1930ff .: Studier fra hjemstavnen (folklore non-fiction books, 6 volumes)
• 1931: Samlede finished (3 volumes)
• 1934: Efterladte erindringer (Posthumously published autobiography)
• 1944: Breve fra Jeppe Aakjær. 1883-1899 (letters issued posthumously)
• 1956: Udvalgte digte (poems published posthumously)
• 1990: Drøm and drama. Breve mellem Jeppe Aakjær og hans søskende (Posthumously issued letters)

swell

• Wilhelm Friese : Nordic literatures in the 20th century (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 389). Kröner, Stuttgart 1971, ISBN 3-520-38901-0 .
• Kindler's New Literature Lexicon Volume 1 A-Az Munich 1988.
• Lexicon of World Literature Volume 1 AK Munich 3rd edition 1988.
• Nordic literary history. Volume 2 From 1860 to the present. Munich 1984.
• Hanne Marie Svendsen, Werner Svendsen: History of Danish literature. Neumünster 1964.

Web links

Commons : Jeppe Aakjær  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Jeppe Aakjær  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Jeppe Aakjær in the catalog of the German National Library
• Danish biography
• Aakjær at ngiyaw-eBooks
• Aakjær near Kalliope (Danish)
• Aakjær at Arkiv for Dansk Litteratur (Danish) - digital copies and e-texts

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jeppe Aakjær . In: Encyclopædia Britannica .
2. ↑ Jeppe Aakjær: Udvalgte Digte [Selected Poems], Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1956. 344 pp.
3. ^ It is quoted here after the 16th edition 1974 = Folkehøjskolens Sangbog , published by the Association of Adult Education Centers in Denmark, 16th edition, 8th edition, Odense 1986. ISBN 87-7001-168-0 . Before and in the following editions the title is again Højskolesangbogen .
4. ↑ Aakjær's struggle for reforms resulted in the poor heathland becoming good farmland (with the “Danish Heath Society”, which Aakjær's appeals took up and implemented), and the simple, natural world he sang about disappeared for good.
5. ↑ Also for the cultural critic who basically does not want to leave much good in the taste of the times and B. in Denmark in the 1920s criticized the kitschy revue song and thought about its success, the ingenious combination of word and melody in “folk-like simplicity” in Aakjær - Nielsen's “Jens Vejmand” is a measure of the success of a song in general. Poul Henningsen: Varieterevuen [1928]. In: Sven Møller Kristensen: Kritisk Revy. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1963, 2nd edition 1965, p. 138.
6. ^ The publisher [Julius Strandberg; on the pamphlet "København: Forlagsboghandelen, Vingaardstræde 18" {publishing house / street, no.}; without dating, so that such cheap prints could always be sold as "new"] paid 25 kroner as a fee to the Gyldendal publishing house for an edition of 5,000 copies, according to a handwritten note on a copy of the Odense University Library; this print is handwritten and dated “15/11/09”.
7. ↑ In the volume from 1956, p. 339 ff. Explanations of the Jutian dialect words and Aakjær's new creations and a register.