Henrik Ibsen

Literature / Writers Datebook: March 20

Norwegian Playwright and Poet, considered "Father of Modern Drama" 

 

Brief biography and works of Norwegian dramatist and poet Henrik Ibsen, famous for 'A Doll's House', 'Peer Gynt', and 'Hedda Gabler.'

Ibsen is often called the father of modern drama because his plays moved away from the Romantic style of theatre popular in the 19^th century toward realism. He was famous for 'A Doll's House,' 'Hedda Gabler' and 'Peer Gynt,' with the last two plays having numerous new productions of plays worldwide, perhaps outdone only by top Shakespearean plays. 

During his life Ibsen's work was much admired. In 1891, fellow playwright George Bernard Shaw, in a lecture entitled "The Quintessence of Ibsenism", called him the greatest living dramatist. James Joyce corresponded with him. British novelist Dame Rebecca West coined her nom de plume after one of Ibsen's characters in his play Rosmersholm. Composer Edvard Grieg, his own countryman, is famous for "Peer Gynt Suite" based on Ibsen's play.  

Early Childhood

Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien, Norway, on March 20, 1828 and died at the age of 78, on May 23, 1906. His father was bankrupt and almost immediately became a social outcast. This event gave Ibsen a lasting impact on his life that resulted in a strong distrust of society which much of his work reflects.

Ibsen's Youth

At age 16, Ibsen became an apprentice pharmacist. Money was scarce, but he was determined to improve his situation and studied in the evenings. When revolution swept Europe, in 1848, Ibsen, aged twenty-two, captivated by the new democratic ideas, wrote his first play, Catiline, which deals with personal freedom, but this was never performed.

Ibsen went to college in Oslo and hoped to become a physician. He supported himself by writing. A year later, however, he was offered the job of writer-manager of the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen, a position he held for eleven years.

Ibsen's Turning Point

At 30, he married Suzannah Thoresen. Their son, Sigurd, was born a year later.

The play Brand, published when he was 38 years old, was the turning point in his writing career. With its emphasis on the individual pitted against society, the play became popular with young liberals at that time. A series of plays dealing with real-life issues soon followed. A Doll's House, which deals about a woman who refuses to obey her husband, caused a sensation and reached Europe and America.  

 

Works by Henrik Ibsen

Brand, 1866

Peer Gynt, 1867

A Doll's House, 1879

Ghosts, 1881

An Enemy of the People, 1882

The Wild Duck, 1884

Rosmersholm, 1886

The Lady from the Sea, 1888

Hedda Gabler, 1890

The Master Builder, 1892

Little Eyolf, 1894

When We Dead Awaken, 1899

 

Resources:

Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers (2002)

Dictionary of the Arts, Gramercy Books, (1994)

Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring, Larousse (1994)   

(Note: I originally published this piece for Suite101.com March 2008. / Tel)  

(c) March 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.