Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, the "Molière of the North",[1][2] wrote 33 Danish comedies between 1722 and 1753 — 15 of them ("the foundation for the entire Danish theatre"[3]) in a span of less than 18 months in 1722 and early 1723.[3]
In his long career, nominally in education, Holberg produced works in philosophy, law, finance, and history; essays, satirical verse, biographies, memoirs, and an early science fiction utopia.[4] However, his comedies have brought him the widest and most lasting acclaim.[5][1][6] Despite this, no English translations of Holberg's comedies were made during his lifetime, and only 4 in the 19th century. In the 20th century many translations appeared (including 14 published by The American-Scandinavian Foundation). Now at least 39 English translations are available representing 20 of Holberg's 33 comedies. Jeppe on the Hill — his "most popular and most discussed play"[7] — is also the most frequently translated, followed by Erasmus Montanus.
Translations
Key
- Danish Title — The original play that serves as the basis of the English text.
- English Title — The title of the English text, as it appears in the given translation. Because one Danish title may be published under various English titles, sorting by this column is not a reliable way to group all translations of a particular original together; to do so, sort on Danish Title.
- Year — The year of the translation's first publication. Some translations may have been written or produced earlier than this date, and some have been republished subsequently, but this is not noted here.
- Publication — The publication in which the translation first appeared. These short titles are linked to their full bibliographic entries.
Table
| Danish Title | English Title | Year | Translator | Publication | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mester Gert Westphaler | The Babbling Barber | 1827 | M. Corbett | The Odd Volume | 1 act; reduced by Holberg himself from its original 5 acts. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus | 1871 | Peter Toft | Fraser's Magazine | 5 acts. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus, or Rasmus Berg | 1885 | T. Weber | Erasmus Montanus, or Rasmus Berg | 5 acts. |
| Den Politiske Kandestøber | The Blue-apron Statesman | 1885 | T. Weber | The Blue-apron Statesman | 5 acts. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe on the Hill, or The Transformed Peasant | 1906 | Waldemar Westergaard & Martin B. Ruud | Jeppe of the Hill | 5 acts. |
| Den Stundesløse | Scatterbrains | 1912 | H. W. L. Hime | Three Comedies | 3 acts. |
| Diderich Menschenskraek | Captain Bombastes Thunderton | 1912 | H. W. L. Hime | Three Comedies | 1 act. Translated as 3 acts. |
| Henrich og Pernille | Henry and Pernilla | 1912 | H. W. L. Hime | Three Comedies | 3 acts. |
| Den Politiske Kandestøber | The Political Tinker | 1914 | Oscar James Campbell & Frederick Schenck | Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe of the Hill | 1914 | Oscar James Campbell & Frederick Schenck | Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus | 1914 | Oscar James Campbell & Frederick Schenck | Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe of the Hill | 1933 | M. Jagendorf | World Drama | 5 acts. |
| Den vægelsindede | The Weathercock | 1946 | Henry Alexander | Four Plays | 3 acts. |
| Den Stundesløse | The Fussy Man | 1946 | Henry Alexander | Four Plays | 3 acts. |
| Mascarade | Masquerades | 1946 | Henry Alexander | Four Plays | 3 acts. |
| De Usynlige | The Masked Ladies | 1946 | Henry Alexander | Four Plays | 3 acts. |
| Mester Gert Westphaler | The Talkative Barber | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act; reduced by Holberg himself from its original 5 acts. |
| Det Arabiske Pulver | The Arabian Powder | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act. |
| Julestuen | The Christmas Party | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act. |
| Diderich Menschenskraek | Diderich the Terrible | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act. |
| Den pantsatte Bondedreng | The Peasant in Pawn | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 3 acts. Translated as 1 act. |
| Den Forvandlede Brudgom | The Changed Bridegroom | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act. |
| Sganarels Rejse til det philosophiske Land | Sganarel's Journey to the Land of the Philosophers | 1950 | Henry Alexander | Seven One-act Plays | 1 act. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | The Transformed Peasant | 1957 | Reginald Spink | Three Comedies | 5 acts. Translated as 3 acts. |
| Det Arabiske Pulver | The Arabian Powder | 1957 | Reginald Spink | Three Comedies | 1 act. |
| Kildereisen | The Healing Spring | 1957 | Reginald Spink | Three Comedies | 3 acts. Translated as a prologue & 1 act. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus | 1989 | Petter Næss | Erasmus Montanus | 5 acts. |
| Den Politiske Kandestøber | The Political Tinker | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Jean de France eller Hans Frandsen | Jean de France; or, Hans Frandsen | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe of the Hill; or, The Transformed Peasant | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Ulysses von Ithacia | Ulysses von Ithacia; or, A German Comdey | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus; or, Rasmus Berg | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Julestuen | The Christmas Party | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 1 act. |
| Pernilles korte Frøkenstand | Pernille's Brief Experience as a Lady | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 3 acts. |
| Den Danske Comoedies Liigbegængelse | The Burial of Danish Comedy, with Thalia's Farewell Speech | 1990 | Gerald S. Argetsinger & Sven Hakon Rossel | Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies | 1 act. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe of the Hill | 1999 | Michael Leverson Meyer | Three Danish Comedies | 5 acts. |
| Den Stundesløse | The Scatterbrain | 1999 | Michael Leverson Meyer | Three Danish Comedies | 3 acts. |
| Jeppe på bjerget eller den forvandlede Bonde | Jeppe of the Hill | 2020 | Bent Holm & Gaye Kynoch | Plays: 1 | 5 acts. |
| Ulysses von Ithacia | Ulysses von Ithacia | 2020 | Bent Holm & Gaye Kynoch | Plays: 1 | 5 acts. |
| Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg | Erasmus Montanus | 2022 | Bent Holm & Gaye Kynoch | Plays: 2 | 5 acts. |
| Hekseri eller Blind alarm | Witchcraft, or False Alarm | 2022 | Bent Holm & Gaye Kynoch | Plays: 2 | 5 acts. |
Notes
- 1 2 Argetsinger 1983, p. 4.
- ↑ Holberg 1957, p. 1.
- 1 2 Holberg 1990, p. xxv.
- ↑ Campbell 1914, p. 4.
- ↑ Vinje 2017, p. 227.
- ↑ Campbell 1914, p. 3.
- ↑ Holm 2017, p. 145.
English translations
Drama collections
- Three Comedies. Translated by Hime, H(enry) W(illiam) L(ovett). London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1912. OCLC 6079882.
- Comedies by Holberg: Jeppe of the hill, The Political Tinker, Erasmus Montanus. Translated by Campbell, Oscar James; Schenck, Frederick. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1914. OCLC 477029781.
- Four Plays by Holberg. Translated by Alexander, Henry. Princeton University Press for the American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1946. OCLC 1381528.
- Seven One-act Plays. Translated by Alexander, Henry. Princeton University Press for the American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1950. OCLC 1612009.
- Three Comedies: The Transformed Peasant, The Arabian Powder, The Healing Spring. Translated by Spink, Reginald. London: William Heinemann. 1957. OCLC 1153458237.
- Jeppe of the Hill and Other Comedies. Translated by Argetsinger, Gerald S.; Rossel, Sven Hakon. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 1990. ISBN 978-0-8093-1480-5. OCLC 1156867790.
- Three Danish Comedies. Translated by Meyer, Michael Leverson. London: Oberon Books. 1999. ISBN 9781840020601. OCLC 1098665264.
- Ludvig Holberg Plays. Volume I: Just Justesen's reflections on theatre, Jeppe of the hill, Ulysses von Ithacia. Translated by Holm, Bent; Kynoch, Gaye. Hollitzer. 2020. ISBN 9783990125953. OCLC 1155694802.
- Ludvig Holberg Plays. Volume II: Zille Hans-daughter's Gynaicologia, or Defence of Womankind; Erasmus Montanus; Witchcraft, or False Alarm. Translated by Holm, Bent; Kynoch, Gaye. Vienna: Hollitzer. 2022. ISBN 978-3990940334. OCLC 1355219148.
Individual dramas
- "The Babbling Barber: A Comedy in One Act". The Odd Volume: Second Series. Translated by Corbett, M. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. 1827. pp. 291–348. OCLC 11855940.
- Translated by Toft, Peter. "Erasmus Montanus: An Old Danish Comedy". Fraser's Magazine. Longmans, Green, and Company. 84: 69–96. 1871.
- Erasmus Montanus, or Rasmus Berg. Translated by Weber, T. Copenhagen: T. Weber's Academy. 1885a. OCLC 80046396.
- The Blue-apron Statesman. Translated by Weber, T. Copenhagen: E. Flensborg. 1885b. OCLC 19690501.
- Jeppe on the Hill; or, The Transformed Peasant; a comedy in five acts. Translated by Westergaard, Waldemar; Ruud, Martin B(ronn). Grand Forks, ND: The Evening Times Company. 1906.
- Clark, Barrett, ed. (1933). "Jeppe of the Hill". World Drama: Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Russia, and Norway. Translated by Jagendorf, M. Dover. pp. 588–607. OCLC 26335417.
- Erasmus Montanus. Translated by Næss, Petter. Madison, WI: Dept. of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin. 1989. OCLC 20943193.
Other works
- A Journey to the World Under-ground. London: T. Astley. 1742. OCLC 3221932.
- Memoirs of Lewis Holberg. London: Hunt and Clarke. 1827. OCLC 561141606.
- Peder Paars. A verse translation of the original poem. Translated by Stromsoe, Bergliot. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 1962. OCLC 644657.
References
- Argetsinger, Gerald S. (1983). Ludvig Holberg's Comedies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-1058-6. OCLC 8431297.
- Campbell, Oscar James (1914). The Comedies of Holberg. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. OCLC 2901424.
- Holm, Bent (2017). "Holberg's comedies: intentions and inspirations". In Haakonssen, Knud; Olden-Jorgensen, Sebastian (eds.). Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754): Learning and Literature in the Nordic Enlightenment. London: Routledge. pp. 135–156. ISBN 9-781472-450708.
- Vinje, Eiliv (2017). "Writings by Holberg in English". In Haakonssen, Knud; Olden-Jorgensen, Sebastian (eds.). Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754): Learning and Literature in the Nordic Enlightenment. London: Routledge. pp. 219–232. ISBN 9-781472-450708.
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