- Not to be confused with Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist
Henrik Hertz (August 25, 1797 - February 25, 1870),
Danish poet, was born of
Jewish parents in
Copenhagen.
In 1817 he was sent to the
university. His father died in his infancy, and the family property was destroyed in the
bombardment of 1807. The boy was brought up by his relative, ML Nathanson, a well-known newspaper editor.
Young Hertz passed his examination in law in 1825. But his taste was all for polite literature, and in 1826-1827 two plays of his were produced,
Mr Burchardt and his Family and
Love and Policy; in 1828 followed the comedy of
Flyttedagen. In 1830 he brought out what was a complete novelty in Danish literature, a comedy in rhymed verse,
Amor's Strokes of Genius.
In the same year Hertz published anonymously
Gengangerbrevene, or
Letters from a Ghost, which he pretended were written by
Baggesen, who had died in 1826. The book was written in defence of
Johan Ludvig Heiberg, and was full of satirical humour and fine critical insight. Its success was overwhelming; but Hertz preserved his anonymity, and the secret was not known until many years later.
In 1832 he published a didactic poem,
Nature and Art, and
Four Poetical Epistles. A Day on the Island of Als was his next comedy, followed in 1835 by
The Only Fault. Hertz passed through
Germany and
Switzerland into
Italy in 1833; he spent the winter there, and returned the following autumn through
France to Denmark.In 1836 his comedy of
The Savings Bank...
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