 March 20 th 1828 – May 23 rd 1906  Born in Skien a small Norwegian coastal town  He came form a wealthy family with 5 siblings  In 1835, his father declared that they were bankrupt. He was then reduced to a life of near poverty.  At the age of 15 he became an apprentice to an Apothecary in Grimstad  In 1850 he went to Christiania in hopes to become a doctor  In 1857 he was called to the directorship of the financially unstable Christiania Norwegian Theater, it failed in 1862  Died after he suffered from several strokes

 1864, he moved to Italy for 27 years  In Italy he writes Brand (1866) which defined his career as a writer, the government paid him  Peer Gynt (1867)  Emperor and Galilean (1873)- He expressed his philosophy of civilization

 Looking for a new style  He wrote 12 plays in 2 year intervals starting with The Pillars of Society

 Published December 4, 1879  First preformed in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879  Sold out 8,000 copies  Very controversial so a second ending called “a barbaric outrage” was made and used when necessary  Established new era of modern drama

 Ibsen became known as the “father of modern drama”  Ibsen’s goal was not necessarily to solve issues but to illuminate them.  Made theater to be not only for entertainment, but to expose social conflicts  Shifted focus from romantic, realistic depictions of individuals, to real world concerns

 Brand (1866), Peter Gynt (1867) › Emphasis on plot  The League of Youth (1869) › Shift from emphasis on plot to interpersonal relationships  Emporer and Galilean (1873), A Doll’s (1879) › Reanslated into English, realism  The Wild Duck (1884) › Modern realistic theme including metaphor and symbolism  The Master Builder (1892), When We Dead Awaken (1899) › Conflicts between art and social life, between creativity and social expectations, between personal contentment and self deception

What made people interested in Ibsen’s later works rather then his earlier ones?

So far in the play, how can you see Ibsen’s struggles depicted in the plot?

 rik-ibsen-37014?page=2 rik-ibsen-37014?page=2  Ibsen.htm Ibsen.htm  Worksheets given