Modern Breakthrough

Modern Breakthrough

The Modern Breakthrough (Danish: Det Moderne Gennembrud) is the normal name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the end of the 19th century.

The term "The Modern Breakthrough" is used about the period 1870-1890 in the history of literature in Scandinavia, which in this period had a breakthrough in the rest of Europe. Danish theorist Georg Brandes is often considered to be the "wire-puller" behind the movement, although some of the authors had already begun to write in arealistic style before he formulated the aesthetic paradigm of the movement. His lectures at Copenhagen University starting 1871 and his work Main Currents in 19th Century Literature (Danish: Hovedstrømninger i det 19de Aarhundredes Litteratur), mark the beginning of the period.