C.H. Pram (1756-1821), Jonas Rein (1760-1821), and Jens
Zetlitz (1761-1821), all of them Norwegians by birth. Two notable
events led to the foundation of an independent Norwegian literature:
the one was the establishment of a Norwegian university at
Christiania, in 1811, and the other was the separation of Norway
from Denmark, in 1814. At first the independent Norwegian literature
appeared as immature as the conditions surrounding it. The majority of
the writers had received their education in old Copenhagen, and were
inclined to follow in the beaten track of the old literature,
although trying to introduce a more national spirit. All were greatly
influenced by the political feeling of the hour. There was a period
when all poetry had for its subject the beauties and strength of
Norway and its people, and _The Rocks of Norway, The Lion of Norway_,
etc., sounded everywhere. Three poets called _Trefoil_, were the
prominent writers of this period. Of these, Conrad Nicolai Schwach
(1793-1860) was the least remarkable. Henrik A. Bjerregaard
(1792-1842) was the author of _The Crowned National Song_, and of a
lyric drama, _Fjeldeventyret_, "The Adventures in the Mountains." The
third member of the _Trefoil_, Mauritz Christian Hansen (1794-1842),
wrote a large number of novels and national stories, which were quite
popular in their time. His poems were among the earliest publications
of independent Norway.

The time about the year 1820 is reckoned as the beginning of the new
Norwegian literature, and Henrik Wergeland is called its creator.
Henrik Arnold Wergeland was born in 1808. His father, Nicolai
Wergeland, a clergyman, was a member of the Constitutional Convention
at Eidsvold. Henrik studied theology, but did not care to become a
clergyman. In 1827, and the following years, he wrote a number of
satirical farces under the signature _Siful Sifadda_. In 1830 appeared
his lyric, dramatic poem, _Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias_, (The
Creation, Man and Messiah), a voluminous piece 'of work, in which
he attempted to explain the historical life of the human race. As
a political writer he was editorial assistant on the _Folkebladet_
(1831-1833), and edited the opposition paper _Statsborgeren_
(1835-1837). He worked with great zeal for the education of the
laboring class, and from 1839 until his death edited a paper in the
interest of the laborer. The prominent features of his earliest
efforts in literature are an unbounded enthusi