Brandes, Georg

Brandes, Georg (Morris Cohen)

(born Feb. 4, 1842, Copenhagen, Den.—died Feb. 19, 1927, Copenhagen) Danish critic and scholar. His published lectures at the University of Copenhagen, Main Currents in 19th-Century Thought, 6 vol. (1872–90), catalyzed the breakthrough from Romanticism to realism in Danish literature. His calls for writers to work in the service of progressive ideas and the reform of modern society, along with his championing of such writers as Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, earned strong conservative opposition but exerted enormous influence throughout Scandinavia. His other critical works include Men of the Modern Breakthrough (1883) and Danish Poets (1877).