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We have already discussed how Hans Christian Andersen wrote about what he knew, managed to keep both children and their parents entertained by his stories and how he harnessed his passion for writing and the power of self-publishing to launch his career. In part three of this AuthorHouse Writing Master Class we will look at how Andersen’s inspirations gave him the strength to challenge conformity. He Drew Deeply Upon His Inspirations
Andersen differed little from many writers in that his initial inspirations were his family. His mother and father were poor, a cobbler and washer woman, but they were devoted to providing their son with every possible opportunity. His mother introduced him to Danish folklore and Andersen says this of his father in his 1846 autobiographical The True Story of My Life, "My father gratified me in all my wishes. I possessed his whole heart; he lived for me. On Sundays, he made me perspective glasses, theatres, and pictures which could be changed; he read to me from Holberg's plays and the Arabian Tales; it was only in such moments as these that I can remember to have seen him really cheerful, for he never felt himself happy in his life and as a handicrafts-man." Andersen would also listen to the folk tales his grandmother and her friends would tell while spinning. Some of these were traditional Danish tales, but they also regaled him with exotic Arabian tales from The Thousand and One Nights. Andersen’s first book of fairy tales was published in 1835 and comprised The Tinder Box, The Princess and the Pea, Little Claus and Big Claus, and Little Ida's Flowers. These early stories are clearly inspired by the Danish folk tales his mother and grandmother lovingly recited to him. Interestingly, Danish folklore has been the inspiration for many great writers and the basis for stories which are still classics today. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is based on the medieval story of Amleth and in the epic poem, Beowulf, the hero comes to the rescue of the king of the Danes. He Challenged Conformity
Andersen’s fairy tales were sensational when they were first published. It may be hard to imagine today as they have become staple childhood memories and his characters have been incorporated into our language, but for early 1800’s Denmark, he was radical. Here are some of the ways Andersen broke with literary tradition through his ground-breaking style and prose. • His particular use of idioms was new in Danish writing and he was much more ambiguous in his storytelling when fairy tales were strictly used as an educational tool.
• He wrote in a voice that was more like traditional oral storytelling, rather than just relaying a story. He spoke to children with familiarity, rather than simply lecturing them.
• He uses Christian imagery in his stories, but the tales themselves do not highlight its moral in an obvious, forceful way.
• He mixed contemporary settings and household objects with fantastical, magical qualities rather than inventing far off lands and mythical beasts.
• His written style was deliberately direct and informal, making his stories accessible to everyone, rather than using contrived, convoluted language geared at the educated and sophisticated classes. In this third part of our AuthorHouse Hans Christian Andersen Writing Master Class we discussed how his inspirations gave him the strength to challenge conformity. In the fourth part of this AuthorHouse Writing Master Class, we will look at how Andersen continually strove to become a better writer and how he achieved his goal.
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