Ewald, Johannes (yōhän`əs ā`väl), 1743–81, Danish poet. Ewald's elegant verse made him the leading poet of his time. He studied for the ministry but soon turned to writing. His lyrical tragic drama Adam and Eve (1769) showed the influence of Klopstock. A prose work, Rolf Krage (1770), was based on a Danish legend from Saxo Grammaticus. The verse tragedy Balder's Death (1774) was a landmark in the revival of interest in Scandinavian mythology. His operetta The Fishermen (1779) contains the Danish national anthem, King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast. The central figure of the Danish Literary Society, Ewald exerted marked influence on later writers. His name also appears as Evald.

Ewald, Johannes

(born Nov. 18, 1743, Copenhagen, Den.—died March 17, 1781, Copenhagen) Danish poet and dramatist. By age 19 he was becoming known as a writer. At 30, addicted to alcohol, he adopted a more solitary life and began producing his mature works, including The Death of Balder (1774), in which he became the first Danish poet to use themes from Scandinavian myth and saga. Of his dramatic works, only the operetta Fiskerne (1779; “The Fishermen”) is still performed. He is especially known for his great personal odes and for songs such as “King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast,” used as a national anthem, and “Lille Gunver,” the first Danish romance. He is considered one of Denmark's greatest lyric poets. His memoirs (published 1804) are his greatest prose work.