Winther, Christian

(1796-1876)

   A Danish poet and short story writer, Winther belongs to the late romantic period in Denmark and points toward the coming realism. He had his literary debut with the collection Digte (1828; Poems), which contains mostly self-reflective love poetry; it was followed by Nogle 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 collection Digtninger (1843; Poetic Works), though, and the epic Hjortens 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 in Fire Noveller (1843; Four Stories) have disappointed love as their theme, while the longer tale Episode afet Familieliv (1853; Episode from the Life of a Family) is a psychologically well-crafted study of psychic and moral disintegration.