Hans Christian Andersen wrote unique, never-seen-before fairy tales, used his vivid imagination to innovate ways to overcome his cynical view of life and the critics who ridiculed his work because of it, and illuminated the face of creativity; forever changing the fairy tale genre.
Andersen is world-renowned for his fairy tales. The most famous among his impressive repertoire include “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Princess and the Pea”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “The Little Mermaid”, but before them, he wrote plays, poems, novels, travelogues, and autobiographies (Wolkstein, 2005). However, when he first started writing fairy tales, he considered them unimportant and talked with family, friends, and critics about ceasing his writing of …show more content…
Previously, all Danish fairy tales were written in an extremely formal manner, completely different from the easygoing spoken language. Andersen did not have a very good education; consequently, he never learned how to write the eloquent written language. Instead, Andersen’s tales were written in a style that sounded welcoming and close to the heart. He also came up with different plots, in which everyday objects became rare treasures; where the servants, beggars, children, and commoners saved the kingdom and were elevated to royalty. Even though these stories came from his lucrative imagination, his view of the world mainly came from his own life and the many challenges he triumphed over. Andersen left his hometown, Odense, when he was 14, to try to become famous in Copenhagen. He was a singer, a dancer, and an actor; these careers all failed and he became a writer (Wolkstein, 2005). In addition, although he fell in love many times, his affections, notably the opera singer Jenny Lind,were never returned, and he was a bachelor for all his life (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2005). Therefore, Andersen proves that anyone can become famous if they are determined
Andersen is world-renowned for his fairy tales. The most famous among his impressive repertoire include “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Princess and the Pea”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “The Little Mermaid”, but before them, he wrote plays, poems, novels, travelogues, and autobiographies (Wolkstein, 2005). However, when he first started writing fairy tales, he considered them unimportant and talked with family, friends, and critics about ceasing his writing of …show more content…
Previously, all Danish fairy tales were written in an extremely formal manner, completely different from the easygoing spoken language. Andersen did not have a very good education; consequently, he never learned how to write the eloquent written language. Instead, Andersen’s tales were written in a style that sounded welcoming and close to the heart. He also came up with different plots, in which everyday objects became rare treasures; where the servants, beggars, children, and commoners saved the kingdom and were elevated to royalty. Even though these stories came from his lucrative imagination, his view of the world mainly came from his own life and the many challenges he triumphed over. Andersen left his hometown, Odense, when he was 14, to try to become famous in Copenhagen. He was a singer, a dancer, and an actor; these careers all failed and he became a writer (Wolkstein, 2005). In addition, although he fell in love many times, his affections, notably the opera singer Jenny Lind,were never returned, and he was a bachelor for all his life (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2005). Therefore, Andersen proves that anyone can become famous if they are determined