Karl Adolph Gjellerup
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| Karl Gjellerup | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1857 Roholte vicarage at Praestö, Denmark |
| Died | October 13, 1919 (aged 62) Klotzsche, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Notable award(s) | Nobel Prize in Literature 1917 |
Karl Gjellerup (June 2, 1857 – October 13, 1919) was a Danish poet and novelist who together with his compatriot Henrik Pontoppidan won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1917. He belonged to the Modern Break-Through. He used the pseudonym Epigonos.
Gjellerup was the son of a vicar in Zealand and grew up in a national and romantic idealistic atmosphere. In the 1870s he broke with his background and at first he became an enthusiastic supporter of the naturalist movement and Georg Brandes, writing audacious novels about free love and atheism. Strongly influenced by his origin he gradually left the Brandes line and 1885 he broke totally with the naturalists, becoming a new romanticist. A central trace of his life was his Germanophile attitude, he felt himself strongly attracted to German culture (his wife was a German) and 1892 he finally settled in Germany, which made him unpopular in Denmark on both the right and left wing. As years passed he totally identified with the German Empire, including its war aims 1914-18.
Among the works of Gjellerup must be mentioned his most important novel Germanernes Lærling (1882, i.e. The German Student) a partly autobiographic tale of the development of a young man from being a conformist theologian to a pro-German atheist and intellectual. Some Wagnerian dramas show his growing romanticist interests. An important work is the novel Møllen (1896, i. e. The Mill) a sinister melodrama of love and jealousy. In his last years he was clearly influenced by Buddhism and Oriental culture.His forgotten original work "Der Pilger Kamanita:The Pilgrim Kamanita" remaining one of the most melodramatic romance on buddhism in different language especially Thailand. It represent the truth of true love along the journey of lovers with the story in buddha period.
In Denmark, Gjellerup's Nobel award was received with little enthusiasm. He had long been regarded as a German writer. Because Sweden was neutral during World War I, the divided prize did not arouse political speculations about partial decision, but showed on the other hand allegiance between the Nordic neighbors.
Today Gjellerup is almost forgotten in Denmark. In spite of this he is, however, normally regarded as "an honest seeker after truth."
[edit] External links
Der Pilger Kamanita by Karl Adolph Gjellerup
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