But even if Tegner in
"Axel" had coquetted with the Romantic muse, it would be rash to
conclude that he contemplated any durable relation. The note which he
had struck in his renowned oration at the festival commemorating the
Reformation (1817), came from the depth of his heart, and continued to
resound through his speech and song for many years to come. I do not
moan to imply, of course, that the Byronic Romanticism was very closely
akin to that of Tieck, the Schlegels, and Novalis; or that Tegner in the
least compromised his frank and manly liberalism by composing a
variation, as it were, on a Byronic theme. How deeply he hated the
mediaeval obscurantism which then, under the auspices of Metternich and
his unholy "Holy Alliance" was spreading over Europe, he showed in
numerous private and public utterances concerning the political
condition of Europe after the fall of Napoleon. His greeting to the "New
Year, 1816" (which his son-in-law has foolishly excluded from his
edition of the collected works), is overbrimming with bitterness at the
triumph of the enemies of the light.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320