author
Johannes Ewald
1743–1781
A pioneering Danish poet and playwright, he helped move Danish literature toward a more personal, emotionally vivid style. He is also remembered for words that later became part of one of Denmark’s national anthems.
1 Audiobook
The Death of Balder
by Johannes Ewald
About the author
Born in Copenhagen in 1743, Johannes Ewald became one of the defining voices of 18th-century Danish literature. Reliable reference sources describe him as a major lyric poet and an important dramatist, noted for bringing fresh feeling and imagination into Danish writing.
His work drew on both personal emotion and old Nordic legend. Among his best-known writings are the dramas Adam and Eve, Rolf Krage, and The Death of Balder, and a song from his play The Fishermen later supplied the words for "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast," one of Denmark’s national anthems.
Ewald’s life was short and troubled, and he died in Copenhagen in 1781 at just 37. Even so, his writing left a lasting mark, and he is still widely regarded as one of the first truly modern poets in Denmark.