Specific manifestations of pre-Romanticism in the works of Johannes Ewald (Levnet og meninger) and Laurence Sterne (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman)

This thesis focuses on the analysis of Johannes Ewald's autobiographic novel Levnet og Meeninger (Life and Opinions, 1774-78) regarding the question of to what extent this book is a pre-Romantic work of fiction. Numerous elements typical of pre-Romanticism can be found in the novel, such as the scrutiny of inner feelings, an emphasis on the expression of emotions, the individualization of both the narrator and the artist, or a new perception of the role of nature in art. All of this makes Levnet og Meeninger an original work; its author can thus be considered the first Danish pre-Romantic author. His novel is also often compared with the work of one of the authors representing pre-Romanticism in British literature, Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759-1767); this thesis will attempt to describe possible similarities between the two works in more detail. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org