WINTHER, CHRISTIAN

(1796-1876)

A Danish poet and short story writer, Winther belongs to the lateromanticperiod in Denmark and points toward the comingrealism. He had his literary debut with the collectionDigte(1828; Poems), which contains mostly self-reflective love poetry; it was followed byNogle Digte(1835; A Few Poems), in which the love poetry became a bit too passionate for Winther's audience.Flugten til Amerika(1835; tr.The Flight to America, 1976), however, is marked by resignation. There is a greater sense of harmony between earthly and heavenly love in the poetry collectionDigtninger(1843; Poetic Works), though, and the epicHjortens Flugt(1855; The Flight of the Hart), written after Winther's marriage, shows that the poet's emotional turbulence has distilled into a state of relative harmony. The short stories inFire Noveller(1843; Four Stories) have disappointed love as their theme, while the longer taleEpisode afet Familieliv(1853; Episode from the Life of a Family) is a psychologically well-crafted study of psychic and moral disintegration.