Holberg, Ludvig, << HOL barg, LOOTH vee >> (1684-1754), was Scandinavia’s first important playwright. Holberg, who wrote in Danish, modeled his comedies on the works of the Roman playwright Plautus and the French playwright Molière. Like Plautus and Molière, Holberg used typical comic characters such as a talkative barber, an amateur politician, and a bragging soldier. He relied heavily on mistaken identities to add excitement to his plots. Holberg’s intention was to educate his audience by amusing them. In his comedies, foolish people tend to become sensible. His best-known comedies include The Political Tinker (1722), Jeppe of the Hill (1722), and Erasmus Montanus (1731). Holberg also wrote Peder Paars (1719-1720), a satirical poem; and Niels Klim (1741), a prose satirical account of an imaginary underground journey. His History of the Danish Kingdoms (1732-1735) was the first cultural history of Denmark written in Danish.
Holberg was born on Dec. 3, 1684, in Bergen, Norway. He taught at the University of Copenhagen. He died on Jan. 28, 1754.
