Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne

Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne (1832–1910), Norwegian novelist, poet, and dramatist, whose work, though perhaps less powerful, was in its day more popular than that of his contemporary Henrik Ibsen because of his reputation as a novelist and song-writer, his influence in contemporary politics, and his more sanguine tone. After spending the years 1857–9 as Director of the Norske Teatret in Bergen (see NATIONALE SCENE, DEN), Bjørnson embarked on a series of dramas on historical and patriotic themes: Between the Battles (1858), Lame Hulda (1858), King Sverre (1861), the trilogy Sigurd Slembe (1862), and Maria Stuart i Skotland (1864); he was to return to such historical subjects with Sigurd Jorsalfar and King Eystejn in 1872. Following his appointment as artistic director of the Kristiania Theatre (1865–7), his plays show an increasing interest in social issues: The Newly-Marrieds (1865) had already dealt with a matrimonial problem in a contemporary setting. The Editor (1874), The Bankrupt (1875), The King (1877), and The New System (1879) all debate contemporary themes, especially the urban and commercial concerns of the time.

The plays of Bjørnson's maturity fall into two groups: private and largely individual problems are dealt with in A Gauntlet (1883), Love and Geography (1885), Laboremus (1901), Daglannet (1904), and the sparkling comedy When the New Wine Blooms (1909); the individual's relations with established authority are considered in Over Ævne I (1883), best known in English as Pastor Sang and incomparably Bjørnson's most powerful work, Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg (1893), and Over Ævne II (1895, seen in London in 1901 as Beyond Human Power). Bjørnson's treatment of social themes has tended to become dated. In Norway, however, he is honoured as a public figure and patriot, as well as a writer of the first rank.

His son Björn (1859–1942) was a well-known actor and theatre manager who joined the Meininger company in 1880. He became a director of the Kristiania Theater, 1885–93, and in 1899 took over the newly established Nationaltheatret. During the next 40 years he served the Norwegian theatre in many different capacities.