Sophus Michaëlis (1865–1932) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

poet,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. His works were translated, published, and performed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

during his lifetime, in addition to his native Denmark.

Personal life

Michaëlis was born in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

on May 14, 1865, as Sophus August Berthel Michaëlis to Hedevig Greve and Johan August Michaëlis, a tailor. He studied in Odense and received a

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of studi ...

degree in 1891. In the course of his studies, he was taught by

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

and Julius Lange. He was married to

Karin Michaëlis Karin Michaëlis (20 March 1872 – 11 January 1950) was a Denmark, Danish journalist and author. She is best known for her novels, short stories, and children's books. Over the course of 50 years, Karin Michaëlis wrote more than 50 books in Dan ...

, whom he had met while she was training in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

as a piano teacher. The couple were married in 1895 and initially earned their living predominantly through theater reviews. Their marriage was terminated in 1911. In November 1911, Michaëlis married Astrid Nyström, with whom he divorced in 1921. He was married a third time to Louise Luci Charlotte Peschardt in December 1921. Michaëlis died on January 28, 1932, in Copenhagen, and is buried at

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

Career

Michaëlis contributed to several operas and theatrical works over the course of his career. he wrote the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

for August Enna's opera ''Aucasin og Nicolette'', which was performed at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

. In 1898 he wrote the libretto for an opera titled ''Portia'' in collaboration with

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

, which was based on

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''. It became much delayed on Nielsen's end, and was ultimately never produced. Despite this, Nielsen went on to compose the music to five of Michaëlis' other productions. As a reporter in Copenhagen, Michaëlis wrote reviews on literature, fine art, and performances. In particular, he wrote a variety of theater reviews on performances in Copenhagen. One of the publications he contributed during this period was ''

Taarnet ''Taarnet'' (Danish: ''The Tower'') was a monthly art and literary magazine founded and edited by Johannes Jørgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was subtitled as Illustreret Tidsskrift for Kunst og Litteratur (Danish: Illustrated Magazine for Art ...

'' published between 1893 and 1894. He was an editor for the newspaper ''Tidens Krav'' from 1896 to 1898, and was later an editor for the magazine ''Kunst'' from 1900 until 1906. Over the course of his career, Michaëlis published a number of Danish translations of other authors' poetry. He published a translation of Gustave Flaubert's ''

Salammbô ''Salammbô'' (1862) is a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt (241–237 BCE). Flaubert's principal source was Book I of the '' Histories'', written by the Greek his ...

'' in 1902, and '' The Temptation of Saint Anthony'' (Danish: ''Den hellige Antonios Fristelser'') in 1904. In 1917 he authored a translation of Wolfram von Eschenbach's ''

Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...

''. Between 1924 and 1928 he released a translation of Goethe's ''Faust''. In addition to his work as a translator, reviewer, and lyricist, Michaëlis authored several original novels. His 1912 novel, ''The Eternal Sleep'' (Danish: ''Den evige søvn'') described

Napoleon's Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

march into

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and his eventual defeat there. The novel, though popular elsewhere, garnered strict criticism in Russia. Michaëlis became a member of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

in 1919 and was further awarded the

Dannebrogordenens Hæderstegn Dannebrogordenens Hæderstegn, also referred to as the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog (post-nominals: D.Ht.), is a meritous award connected to the Danish Order of the Dannebrog. The cross was instituted by King Frederick VI of Denm ...

in 1929. He was the chairman of the Danish Authors' Society (Danish: ''Dansk forfatterforening'') from 1915 until his death. The Society founded a scholarship in his memory in 1937.

Bibliography

*''Digte'', 1889 *''Synd'', 1891 *''Vanemennesker'', 1892 *''Solblomster'', 1893 *''Æbelø'', 1895 *''Aucassin og Nicolette'', 1896 (lyrics) *''Sirener'', 1898 *''Dødedansen'', 1900 *''Livets Fest'', 1900 *''Giovanna'', 1901 *''Palmerne'', 1904 *''Billedhuggeren Jens Adolph Jerichau'', 1906 *''Revolutionsbryllup'', 1906 *''Lægen'', 1906 *''St. Helena'', 1910 *''Den evige søvn'', 1912 *''Blaaregn'', 1913 *''Hellener og Barbar'', 1914 *''Træbukken'', 1918 *''Vilhelm Hammershøi'', 1918 *''Dommeren'', 1921 *''Himmelskibet'', 1921 *''Romersk Foraar'', 1921

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelis, Sophus 1865 births 1932 deaths 19th-century Danish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Danish novelists 19th-century Danish poets 19th-century male writers 20th-century Danish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Danish novelists 20th-century Danish poets Danish male dramatists and playwrights Danish male novelists Danish male poets