Henrik Wergeland - Early Poetry

Early Poetry

In 1829 he published a volume of lyrical and patriotic poems, Digte, første Ring (poems, first circle), which attracted the liveliest attention to his name. In this book we find his ideal love, the heavenly Stella, which can be described as a Wergeland equivalent to Beatrice in Dante`s poem Divina Commedia. Stella is in fact based on four girls, whom Wergeland fell in love with (two of whom he wooed), and never got really close to. The character of Stella also inspired him to endeavour on the great epic Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias (Creation, Man and the Messiah). It was remodeled in 1845 as Mennesket (Man). In these works, Wergeland shows the history of Man and God's plan for humanity. The works are clearly platonic-romantic, and is also based on ideals from the enlightenment and the French revolution. Thus, he criticizes abuse of power, and notably evil priests and their manipulation of people's minds. In the end, his credo goes like this:

Heaven shall no more be split

after the quadrants of altars,

the earth no more be sundered and plundered

by tyrant's sceptres.

Bloodstained crowns, executioner's steel

torches of thralldom and pyres of sacrifice

no more shall gleam over earth.

Through the gloom of priests, through the thunder of kings,

the dawn of freedom,

bright day of truth

shines over the sky, now the roof of a temple,

and descends on earth,

who now turns into an altar

for brotherly love.

The spirits of the earth now glow

in freshened hearts.

Freedom is the heart of the spirit, Truth the spirit's desire.

earthly spirits all

to the soil will fall

to the eternal call:

Each in own brow wears his heavenly throne.

Each in own heart wears his altar and sacrificial vessel.

Lords are all on earth, priests are all for God.

At the age of twenty-one he became a power in literature, and his enthusiastic preaching of the doctrines of the French July revolution of 1830 made him a force in politics also. Meanwhile he was tireless in his efforts to advance the national cause. He established popular libraries, and tried to alleviate the widespread poverty of the Norwegian peasantry. He preached the simple life, denounced foreign luxuries, and set an example by wearing Norwegian homespun clothes. He strived for enlightenment and greater understanding of the constitutional rights his people had been given. Thus, he became increasingly popular among common people.