C.D. Warner, et al., comp.
The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
Johannes Ewald (1743–1781)
Ewald, Johannes (ā’väl). The foremost of Danish lyric poets; born at Copenhagen, Nov. 18, 1743; died on March 17, 1781. He wrote: ‘The Temple of Fortune’ (1764); the ‘Dirge-Cantata on the Death of Frederic V.’ (1766); the drama ‘Adam and Eve’ (1765, remodeled 1769), with fine lyric interludes. His finest plays are: ‘Balder’s Death’ (1773) and ‘The Fishers’ (1778). In the latter occurs the lyric “King Christian stood by the lofty mast,” which is now the Danish national song. ‘The Brutal Clacqueurs’ (1771) and ‘Harlequin the Patriot’ (1772) were successful farces. He left a notable autobiography, ‘J. Ewald’s Life and Opinions.’ (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).