Background
Munch was born in Christiania, as son of poet, priest and later Lutheran Bishop Johan Storm Munch and his wife Else Petronelle Hofgaard.
Munch was born in Christiania, as son of poet, priest and later Lutheran Bishop Johan Storm Munch and his wife Else Petronelle Hofgaard.
He was the first person to be granted a poet"s pension by the Parliament of Norway. Munch made his literary debut in 1836 with the poetry collection Ephemerer (Ephemera). His first play was Kong Sverres Ungdom from 1837, written for the opening of Christiania Theatre´s new building.
In 1840 he published the one-act play Donna Clara, set in Spain.
He edited the newspaper Den Constitutionelle from 1841 to 1846. His story Den Ensomme.
En Sjælehistorie was first printed in Den Constitutionelle in 1846. From 1846 to 1848 he made an educational European tour together with his family, and visited France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
He published the poetry collection ¨Digte, gamle og nye in 1848, and Nye Digte in 1850.
In 1866 Edvard Grieg composed music to the poem "Vuggesang" from this collection, published as Opus 9 together with three other songs with text by Munch. In the 1850s he wrote three historic plays on verse, Salomon de Caus (1854), En Aften paa Giske (1855), and Lord William Russell (1857). Munch was granted a poet"s pension by the Parliament of Norway from 1860, the first as such in Norway, and was titled professor from 1866.