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Oehlenschläger, Adam (1779–1850) tends to be considered the Danish Wordsworth. His writings reveal his fascination with folklore, and in 1816 he translated Märchen by Musäus, Fouqué, Hoffmann, and Chamisso into Danish, thus stimulating such writers as Ingemann and Andersen. His plays Aladdin (1806) and Aly og Gulhyndy (Aly and Gulhyndy, 1813) are romantic adaptations from The Arabian Nights, in which, true to the tradition of the multi‐phased magic tale, Oehlenschläger takes his protagonists through a process of Bildung.

— Niels Ingwersen

Oehlenschläger, Adam Gottlob (Vesterbro, Copenhagen, 1779-1850, Copenhagen), Danish writer of partial German descent, was introduced to the German Romantic movement (see Romantik) by H. Steffens, whom he met in Copenhagen in 1802. He translated some works by Tieck into Danish, but later adopted a critical attitude towards the Romantics, which he explained to F. Hebbel, who was greatly stimulated by contact with him while staying in Copenhagen in the early 1840s. On his visits to Germany, Oehlenschläger met Goethe, Schelling, and Hegel. He wrote in German as well as in Danish. His tragedies were influenced by Goethe and Schiller, Correggio (1808) being written in German. Most of his works written in Danish appeared in German as well: Gesammelte Schriften (21 vols.) in 1829-39, poetry, Meine Gedichte, in 1817 and in 1844, and Neue dramatische Dichtungen in 1850. In the same year appeared Meine Lebenserinnerungen (4 vols.).

(ä'däm gŏt'lŏb ö'lənshlāgər) , 1779–1850, Danish romantic poet and dramatist. Oehlenschläger turned for themes to the sagas and to Scandinavian history; he is known as the national poet of Denmark. His poem “The Golden Horns” (1803, tr. 1913) is an original and creative treatment of myth. Other works include lyrics, epics, and a series of historical plays, the best known of which, Earl Hakon the Mighty (1807, tr. 1857), describes the decline of heathenism in Scandinavia. Other dramas are Axel and Valborg (1810, tr. 1851) and Helge (1814). In 1829, Oehlenschläger was crowned Scandinavian poet laureate.