History Creator / HenrikWergeland

* StreamOfConsciousness: The rule in his early poetry, which, despite a defining title, seems to contain thoughts of almost everything.

RomanticismVsEnlightenment should summarize the work of Norwegian author Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845), playwright, poet, political lobbyist and historian. He is arguably the {{trope codifier}} for the Norwegian romantic movement at large, and also the patriotic movement in UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} during the 1800s. In his day, he was a badass, or at least a {{badass boast}}er, writing poems and plays until his last cough. He died of two-sided Pneumonia at the age of 37.

* CallToAgriculture: Wergeland was an eager, self taught botanicist, and used flower metapors all over the place, as well as didactic poems and essays on how to grow and use almost anything that can sprout from Norwegian soil. One of his farces ends with a DeusExMachina fairy coming in with a set of flowers, each and every one of them carrying a virtue meant to kill or neutralize lies. As it happens, the use of metaphors fits every single flower extremely well. He also wrote a poem to a friend who just happened to be a botanicist, and the flowers are everywhere.
** On his deathbed, he founded the "company of cabbage and roots", distributing seeds to working class people all over town and elsewhere, with descriptions on how to use them.

* ChewingTheScenery: Not ''all'' of his plays are like this, but some of his farcical plays definitely counts. The play ''Harlequin Virtuos'' is a combination of this and StylisticSuck, all for the RuleOfFunny.
* CreatorCameo / AuthorAvatar: In some of his farces, he is present himself, although under different names. As those farces were statements directed towards his critics, he features in the background (as Siful) in one of them, and as the poet ''Leontodon'' in another. In one particular case, he even doubled as an elf king.
** On the more serious side, we have the poet Sylvius, mooning over Stella in his first cycle of poems (a flanderized version of himself), being chided by Stella from the background.

* InformedJudaism: In his poems written for the Jewish cause, Wergeland couldn`t resist this. Most apparently shown in the use of the name Jehovah. Wergeland`s Jews repeatedly utter the name, while {{real life}} Jews are ''very'' cautious on this particular issue.
* UsefulNotes/JohannesGutenberg: Wergeland wrote a poem to his honor to memorize the invention of printing. The press made knowledge shareable and accessible for all, something that fit well into his ideas of enlightenment.
** In the same vein, we would have expected Wergeland to praise the emergence of the {{internet}}, [[FridgeLogic had he known about it]]: "Does the thought roll around the globe with the speed of ideas? He (Gutenberg) sprayed a radiant rain over earth of spirited, weird magical signs..."

* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Pretty much a staple of his style. He was definitely a grave offender in his early phase, to a point where the ''Pataphor'' came into play. It is tricky to explain how this actually works, but an example should be one metaphor railing into a long explanation, [[MindScrew giving way to yet more metaphors (inside the first one)]], making the whole thing essentially taking on a life of its own.
** This gained him a heavy scolding from contemporary critics, who arguably didn`t get it.

* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Wergeland used TheFairFolk on several occasions in his plays, usually on the good side. In one particular case, it is lampshaded that the fairies in question is in fact reincarnated birds and butterflies. They also have the power to relocate souls - in this case, the soul of a naughty boy who has to be punished for rude behaviour against animals and insects. If he does not redeem himself, he will end up as one of the night elves. Hence, the fairies (night-elves) are actually the souls of departed animals, and thus closely connected to the cycles of nature.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: "Souls", as stated by a very young Wergeland (barely 21 at the time), are "spirit eggs" seeded inside humans. One soul may be the result of ''one single spirit'', and when ''that'' happens, a human genius emerges, to alter the course of human history - he mentioned a few candidates, among them UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, Creator/WilliamShakespeare and UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Usually, a soul would consist of half a spirit, sharing a spiritual identity with another human. And thus, the idea of StarCrossedLovers gain a specific meaning in the Wergelandverse.
* OurSpiritsAreDifferent: Wergeland created the idea of "elementary spirits", or ''aions'', roaming the universe. Those spirits would then split up to form the basis of more than one human soul. See the trope above for more details.
** A later version had two spirits already in love, who ensouled the sleeping bodies of Adam and Eve, ensuring that all humans shared that spiritual inheritance (Wergeland was not strictly consistent on this - he developed his ideas over a period of 17 years. That would be entire literary career).

* CreationMyth: His ''magnum opus'', retelling the human history from creation to final doom.
* DearNegativeReader: His poem ''Mig Selv'' ("Myself") is basically an answer to his critics in the newspaper ''Morgenbladet'', particularly their statement that he was a grouchy and unpleasant person. In this poem, he first denies being grouchy or unpleasant because he's so very cheerful and mild that he needs only the hint of fresh air or a green leaf to experience pure joy; then he goes on to explain why he's not wasting his valuable time even getting angry with such a pitiful excuse for a newspaper, continues by stating it's no wonder he gets in a bad mood when he has to deal with idiots like them, and then finishes with a rousing praise of the stars in the sky, who shine so brightly that he just smiles peacefully in the face of such unfair mockery as he's been subject to. In 2008, during Wergeland`s bicentennial anniversary, Morgenbladet finally printed the poem on his birthday, and made a public apology for this. Yes, it took them ''that'' long.
* WorkingClassHero: Hans Jacobsen, described as being "heroic" because he appreciated freedom over slavery (which would have given him a more sustainable diet).
* WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons: Subverted. Wergeland actually ''invented'' the term "working class" in Norway, and wrote several pamphlets for the workers to benefit from. He showed special attention to this group, and often helped them if he was able to. He strove for social enlightenment, and this made him loved among commoners. Many of them attended his funeral. He also married a commoner`s daughter, by the way. She showed such wit and intelligence that she completely won the hearts of his father and sister - the two of them became lifelong friends.

Wergeland is probably most known in non-Norwegian countries for his political lobbyism on behalf of {{Jews}}. The Norwegian constitution was strikingly clear on not allowing Jews access to the realm, and Wergeland worked for years to get this paragraph amended. He finally succeeded, though it would take another six years after his death to get the case closed. Swedish Jews paid for his memorial monument in gratitude.

* ''Literature/TheJew'', a collection of poems written for the jewish question in 1841, followed by ''the Jewess'' in 1845. Both collections are prone examples of tolerance and understanding - quite anti racist for the time.
* ''Theatre/IrreparabileTempus'', a farcical morality play written when he was barely 20 years of age. TheEasop is there in the title: To use your life wisely, and not waste it on trifles.

* DontAsk: Wergeland was really upset after the smashing of {{Usefulnotes/Poland}} in 1831. He had written a number of poems on the subject, but when he later wrote a "catechism of freedom" for Norwegians, he underlined this on behalf of the poles: "Don`t ask of them. Don`t ask if I believe whether God and his justice rules in Heaven..." Understated that he felt really bad about the Polish situation after the Russian conquest.

* GoodSamaritan: Jacob, the old jew in his poem ''Christmas Eve'' features prominently. He picks up a freezing child in a blizzard, and heads for the nearest house seeking shelter. Too bad he`s jewish, as the good christian couple will not let him in on Christmas eve. Tragedy ensues, when the couple find the jew dead at their doorstep the morning after, and understand that the child he carries is actually theirs.
* HavingAGayOldTime: Unavoidable after 170 years. A good example of this is quoted from Literature/CreationManAndTheMessiah, where he speaks of "seeing with the far sight of the soul". In the original text, the words "far sight" came to be translated as "Television" in norwegian, and hilarity ensued instantly (See with the television of the soul...).

* InformedJudaism: In his poems written for the Jewish cause, Wergeland couldn`t resist this. Most apparently shown in the use of the name Jehova. Wergeland`s jews repeatedly utter the name, while {{real life}} jews are ''very'' cautious on this particular issue.

* SelfDeprecation: On his deathbed, Wergeland wrote a rather humorous authobiography, pestering himself for some of his youthful failures, like the stalking business. He also imagines someone finding his skull twenty years after his death, and the skull holding a lecture over some nonsensical issues. Until the reveal: the skull harbored a rat all along.

RomanticismVsEnlightenment should summarize the work of Norwegian author Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845), playwright, poet, political lobbyist and historian. He is arguably the {{trope codifier}} for the Norwegian romantic movement at large, and also the patriotic movement in UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} during the 1800s. In his day, he was a badass, or at least a {{badass boast}}er, writing poems and plays until his last cough. He died of two-sided Pneumonia at the age of 37.