HAUCH

hauch, johannes carsten (1790-1872), danish poet, was born of danish parents residing at frederikshald in norway, on the 12th of may 1790. in 1802 he lost his mother, and in 1803 returned with his father to denmark. in 1807 he fought as a volunteer against the english invasion. he entered the university of copenhagen in 1808, and in 1821 took his doctor's degree. he became the friend and associate of steffens and oehlenschlager, warmly adopting the romantic views about poetry and philosophy. his first two dramatic poems, _the journey to ginistan_ and _the power of fancy_, appeared in 1816, and were followed by a lyrical drama, _rosaura_ (1817); but these works attracted little or no attention. hauch therefore gave up all hope of fame as a poet, and resigned himself entirely to the study of science. he took his doctor's degree in zoology in 1821, and went abroad to pursue his studies. at nice he had an accident which obliged him to submit to the amputation of one foot. he returned to literature, publishing a dramatized fairy tale, the _hamadryad_, and the tragedies of _bajazet_, _tiberius_, _gregory vii._, in 1828-1829, _the death of charles v._ (1831), and _the siege of maestricht_ (1832). these plays were violently attacked and enjoyed no success. hauch then turned to novel-writing, and published in succession five romances--_vilhelm zabern_ (1834); _the alchemist_ (1836); _a polish family_ (1839); _the castle on the rhine_ (1845); and _robert fulton_ (1853). in 1842 he collected his shorter _poems_. in 1846 he was appointed professor of the scandinavian languages in kiel, but returned to copenhagen when the war broke out in 1848. about this time his dramatic talent was at its height, and he produced one admirable tragedy after another; among these may be mentioned _svend grathe_ (1841); _the sisters at kinnekulle_ (1849); _marshal stig_ (1850); _honour lost and won_ (1851); and _tycho brahe's youth_ (1852). from 1858 to 1860 hauch was director of the danish national theatre; he produced three more tragedies--_the king's favourite_ (1859); _henry of navarre_ (1863); and _julian the apostate_ (1866). in 1861 he published another collection of _lyrical poems and romances_; and in 1862 the historical epic of _valdemar seir_, volumes which contain his best work. from 1851, when he succeeded oehlenschlager, to his death, he held the honorary post of professor of aesthetics at the university of copenhagen. he died in rome in 1872. hauch was one of the most prolific of the danish poets, though his writings are unequal in value. his lyrics and romances in verse are always fine in form and often strongly imaginative. in all his writings, but especially in his tragedies, he displays a strong bias in favour of what is mystical and supernatural. of his dramas _marshal stig_ is perhaps the best, and of his novels the patriotic tale of _vilhelm zabern_ is admired the most. see g. brandes, "carsten hauch" (1873) in _danske digtere_ (1877); f. ronning, _j. c. hauch_ (1890), and in _dansk biografisk-lexicon_, (vol. vii. copenhagen, 1893). hauch's novels were collected (1873-1874) and his dramatic works (3 vols., 2nd ed., 1852-1859).