Niels Klim's Journey Under the Ground

Louis Holberg/Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (1684-1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque. Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature, and is best known for the comedies he wrote 1722-23 for the theatre in Lille Gronnegade in Copenhagen. His writings can be divided into three periods, during which he produced mainly history, 1711-1718; mainly satirical poetry and stage comedies, 1719-1731; and mainly philosophy, 1731-1750. His rich output of comedies during the middle period was shaped by his role as house dramatist at Denmark's first public theatre, which opened in Copenhagen in 1721. The poverty caused by the Copenhagen Fire of 1728, brought a wave of depression and puritanism upon the nation, which clashed with Holberg's satirical works, and as a consequence he gave up his comedies switching to philosophical and historical writings in 1731.