Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Hans Christian Andersen" - New World
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| influences = [[Ludvig Holberg]], [[William Shakespeare]] | | influences = [[Ludvig Holberg]], [[William Shakespeare]] | ||
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− | '''Hans Christian Andersen''' {{IPA|[ˈhanˀs ˈkʰʁæʂd̥jan ˈɑnɐsn̩]}} or simply '''H.C. Andersen''' {{IPA|[hɔse ˈɑnɐsn̩]}}, (April 2 1805 – August 4 1875) was a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[author]] and [[poet]]. Although he was a proflic author who wrote plays, travel books, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his [[fairy tales]], immortalized through | + | '''Hans Christian Andersen''' {{IPA|[ˈhanˀs ˈkʰʁæʂd̥jan ˈɑnɐsn̩]}} or simply '''H.C. Andersen''' {{IPA|[hɔse ˈɑnɐsn̩]}}, (April 2 1805 – August 4 1875) was a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[author]] and [[poet]]. Although he was a proflic author who wrote plays, travel books, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his [[fairy tales]], a literary genre that he was master of and whose works were immortalized through children's world literature. However, Andersen was not just a children's author; his fairy tales, called ''eventyrs'' in the Danish language translates more accurately to mean "fantastic tale". His stories, often dark tales of hard won redemption, hold universal lessons for all ages. He is Denmark's most famous son whose works were celebrated in 2005, the year of Hans Christian Andersen's bicentenary. |
[http://dr.dk/hcandersen] | [http://dr.dk/hcandersen] | ||
==Childhood== | ==Childhood== | ||
− | Andersen was born in Odense, [[Denmark]], on Tuesday, April 2 1805. | + | Andersen was born in Odense, [[Denmark]], on Tuesday, April 2 1805. He was the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. Although his mother was illiterate, his father encouraged his son's imagination, reading to him from the [[Arabian Nights]] and the Danish playwright [[Ludvig Holberg]]. His father even constructed a small toy-theatre for him that the young H.C. would stage dramas with using hand made puppets. He would recite plays by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and act those out using his wooden dolls as actors. |
− | + | In 1816, his father died and the young boy worked as an apprentice for a tailor, but at age 13 he left for Copenhagen to seek "fame and fortune" as an actor. He spent three years attempting to establish himself in the theatre but after many disappointments he continued his schooling under the tutelage of a family friend and advisor to the king, Jonas Collins. | |
− | |||
− | In 1816, his father died and the young boy | ||
[[Image:Hans christian andersen 1869.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hans Christian Andersen in 1869]] | [[Image:Hans christian andersen 1869.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hans Christian Andersen in 1869]] | ||
− | + | Although he received a scholarship to study and sponsorship by [[King Frederick VI]] he experienced many difficulties as a student. He lived at the headmaster's home at Slagelse where he was unhappy and purportedly treated badly in order to "build character." He was not a good speller which may have been exacerbated by dyslexia. His difficulties in writing, however, are also what later enabled him to write in an accessible language rather than in the more stilted prose of the day.[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1428373_1,00.html]. | |
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== Life as an author == | == Life as an author == |
Revision as of 17:48, 26 January 2007
- For other uses, see Hans Christian Andersen (disambiguation).
Pseudonym(s): | HC Andersen |
---|---|
Born: | April 2, 1805 Odense, Denmark |
Died: | August 4, 1875 Copenhagen, Denmark |
Occupation(s): | novelist, short story writer, poet |
Nationality: | Dane |
Literary genre: | Children's literature, travelogue |
Magnum opus: | The Little Mermaid |
Influences: | Ludvig Holberg, William Shakespeare |
Hans Christian Andersen [ˈhanˀs ˈkʰʁæʂd̥jan ˈɑnɐsn̩] or simply H.C. Andersen [hɔse ˈɑnɐsn̩], (April 2 1805 – August 4 1875) was a Danish author and poet. Although he was a proflic author who wrote plays, travel books, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his fairy tales, a literary genre that he was master of and whose works were immortalized through children's world literature. However, Andersen was not just a children's author; his fairy tales, called eventyrs in the Danish language translates more accurately to mean "fantastic tale". His stories, often dark tales of hard won redemption, hold universal lessons for all ages. He is Denmark's most famous son whose works were celebrated in 2005, the year of Hans Christian Andersen's bicentenary. [1]
Childhood
Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on Tuesday, April 2 1805. He was the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. Although his mother was illiterate, his father encouraged his son's imagination, reading to him from the Arabian Nights and the Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg. His father even constructed a small toy-theatre for him that the young H.C. would stage dramas with using hand made puppets. He would recite plays by Shakespeare and act those out using his wooden dolls as actors.
In 1816, his father died and the young boy worked as an apprentice for a tailor, but at age 13 he left for Copenhagen to seek "fame and fortune" as an actor. He spent three years attempting to establish himself in the theatre but after many disappointments he continued his schooling under the tutelage of a family friend and advisor to the king, Jonas Collins.
Although he received a scholarship to study and sponsorship by King Frederick VI he experienced many difficulties as a student. He lived at the headmaster's home at Slagelse where he was unhappy and purportedly treated badly in order to "build character." He was not a good speller which may have been exacerbated by dyslexia. His difficulties in writing, however, are also what later enabled him to write in an accessible language rather than in the more stilted prose of the day.[2].
Life as an author
In 1829, Andersen enjoyed a considerable success with a fantastic story entitled "A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager", and during the same season, he published both a farce and a collection of poems. He had little further progress, however, until 1833, when he received a small travelling grant from the King, making the first of his long European journeys. At Le Locle, in the Jura, he wrote "Agnete and the Merman"; and in October 1834 he arrived in Rome.
In June 1847, he paid his first visit to England he met Charles Dickens for the first time. [1]
First Novel and other works
Andersen's first novel, The Improvisatore, was published in the beginning of 1835, and became an immediate success. During the same year, Andersen published the first installment of his immortal Fairy Tales. More stories, completing the first volume, were published in 1836 and 1837. The quality of these stories was not immediately recognised, and they sold poorly. At the same time, Andersen enjoyed more success with two novels: O.T. (1836) and Only a Fiddler (1837).
In 1851, he published to wide acclaim In Sweden, a volume of travel sketches. A keen traveller, Andersen published several other long travelogues: Shadow Pictures of a Journey to the Harz, Swiss Saxony, etc. etc. in the Summer of 1831 (1831), A Poet's Bazaar (1842), In Spain (1863), and A Visit to Portugal in 1866 (1868). The latter describes his visit with his Portuguese friends. Describe travelogues here...?
Picture-Book without Pictures (1840).
Fame and Fairytales
The fame of his Fairy Tales had grown steadily; a second series began in 1838 and a third in 1845. Andersen was now celebrated throughout Europe, although his native Denmark still showed some resistance to his work.
Andersen continued to publish many works, although still hoping to excel as both novelist and dramatist, his true genius was expressed through his writing of Fairy Tales - two more collections appeared in 1847 and 1848. After a long silence, Andersen published a new novel To Be Or Not to Be in 1857. He continued publishing his Fairy Tales in installments, until 1872. He published his last stories at Christmas
Andersen himself was highly inspired by the Arabian Nights. A few of his stories such as http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/cgi/aesop1.cgi?hca&a126 "The Wild Swans"] and The Rose-Elf are adaptations of older folktales (for example, "The Wild Swans" might be a retelling of The Six Swans as recorded by the Brothers Grimm.)
Death
Fairy tales
Some of his most famous fairy tales include:
- The Angel [3]
- The Bell [4]
- The Emperor's New Clothes [5]
- The Fir Tree [6]
- The Happy Family [7]
- It's Quite True! [8]
- The Little Match Girl [9]
- The Little Mermaid [10]
- Little Tuk [11]
- The Nightingale [12]
- The Old House [13]
- Ole-Lukøie [14]
- The Princess and the Pea (also known as The Real Princess) [15]
- The Red Shoes [16]
- The Shadow [17]
- The Snow Queen [18]
- The Steadfast Tin Soldier [19]
- The Story of a Mother [20]
- The Swineherd [21]
- Thumbelina [22]
- The Tinder Box [23]
- The Ugly Duckling [24]
- The Wild Swans [25]
Naming conventions
Most English (as well as German and French) sources use the name "Hans Christian Andersen", but in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia he is usually referred to as merely "H. C. Andersen". His name "Hans Christian" is a traditional Danish name (and is used as a single name; it is incorrect to use only one of the two parts). It is an accepted custom in Denmark to use only the initials in this and a few other names (examples include "H.P.", short for "Hans Peter" and "J.C." or "I.C" short for "Jens Christian" and "H.H" short for "Hans Henrik")
Miscellaneous trivia
- April 2, Andersen's birthday, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.
- H.C. Andersen is also a Finnish band. Its name is a play on words as, the H.C. refers to hard core (punk) in this case, not Hans Christian: they play hardcore punk and "hardcore" is often abbreviated "HC".
- A $12.5m theme park based on Andersen's tales and life will open in Shanghai by the end of 2006. Multi-media games as well as all kinds of cultural contests related to the fairytales will reportedly be available to visitors. He was chosen as the star of the park because he is a "nice, hardworking person who was not afraid of poverty", Shanghai Gujin Investment general manager Zhai Shiqiang was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. (BBC Asia-Pacific 8/11/06)
D- I could not find info on this theme park. E
- He is the first known person to write a novel about a Philosopher's Stone.
Contemporary literary works inspired by Andersen's stories
- The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf by Kathryn Davis: a contemporary novel about fairy tales and opera
- The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge: an award-winning novel that reworks the Snow Queen's themes into epic science fiction
- The Nightingale by Kara Dalkey: a lyrical adult fantasy novel set in the courts of old Japan
- The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr: a novel that brings Andersen's fairy tale to colonial and modern America
- Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier: a romantic fantasy novel, set in early Ireland, thematically linked to "The Wild Swans"
- The Snow Queen by Eileen Kernaghan: a gentle Young Adult fantasy novel that brings out the tale's subtle pagan and shamanic elements
- "The Snow Queen," a short story by Patricia A. McKillip (published in Snow White, Blood Red)
- "You, Little Match Girl," a short story by Joyce Carol Oates (published in Black Heart, Ivory Bones)
- "Sparks," a short story by Gregory Frost (based on The Tinder Box, published in Black Swan, White Raven)
- "Steadfast," a short story by Nancy Kress (based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier, published in Black Swan, White Raven)
- "The Sea Hag," a short story by Melissa Lee Shaw (based on The Little Mermaid, published in Silver Birch, Blood Moon)
- "The Real Princess," a short story by Susan Palwick (based on The Princess and the Pea, published in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears)
- "Match Girl," a short story by Anne Bishop (published in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears)
- "The Pangs of Love," a short story by Jane Gardam (based on The Little Mermaid, published in Close Company: Stories of Mothers and Daughters)
- "The Chrysanthemum Robe," a short story by Kara Dalkey (based on The Emperor's New Clothes, published in The Armless Maiden)
- "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," a short story by Joan Vinge (published in Women of Wonder)
- "In the Witch's Garden," a short story by Naomi Kritzer (based on The Snow Queen, published in Realms of Fantasy magazine, October 2002 issue)
- "The Last Poems About the Snow Queen," a poem cycle by Sandra Gilbert (published in Blood Pressure)
Bibliography
- Wullschläger Jackie, Hans Christian Andersen. The Life of a Storyteller, Penguin, 2000, ISBN 0226917479
- Dalager, Stig Journey in Blue, historical, biographical novel about H.C.Andersen, Peter Owen, London 2006, McArthur & Co., Toronto 2006. ISBN 0720612691
Notes
Jens Andersen; Andersen, En Biografi; Gyldendal, Copenhagen, 2 volumes, 2003
External links
- The Hans Christian Andersen Center - contains many Andersen's stories in Danish and English
- The Hans Christian Andersen Museum has a large digital collection of Hans Christian Andersen papercuts, drawings, portraits and more.
- Hans Cristian Andersen at the Internet Movie Database
- Hans Christian Andersen Bicentenary Website from Danish Broadcasting Corp. (DR)- Features audio fairytales and interactive, multimedia features in Danish and English
- Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories
- The Orders and Medals Society of Denmark has descriptions of Hans Christian Andersen's Medals and Decorations.
- And the cobbler's son became a princely author Details of Andersen's life and the celebrations.
- Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales in English, Russian and Ukrainian
- Hans Christian Andersen: Fairytales and Stories Text of most of Andersen's fairy tales, with an extensive introduction and art based on Andersen's papercuts.
- Works by Hans Christian Andersen. Project Gutenberg
- Hans Christian Andersen Information (mainly in Danish) contains information about his life, childhood home, Hans Christian Andersen House and museum, fairy tales and stories, literary activities, drawings, papercuts and picture pages.
- Andersen online potrait gallery
- Funabashi H. C. Andersen Park (in Japanese) Main Article : H. C. Andersen Park (アンデルセン公園)
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