Sigbjørn Obstfelder is considered the first Norwegian modernist writer. He wrote poetry, dramas and novels but is primarily known for his collection of poems, Digte (1893, Poems). He was inspired by Charles Baudelaire and French Symbolism, and experimented with prose poetry and with the musical quality of language. His works are characterized by a tension between contrasting themes, such as togetherness and solitude, inebriation and anxiety. He had a tormented life with an unstable mental health and died of tuberculosis in Copenhagen at the age of 34.