Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House

Importance as a Playwright One of three major playwrights of standard repertoire in the English speaking theater: Shakespeare, Ibsen Chekov.

From Romanticism to the Modern Drama Realistic portrayals of individuals Focus on psychological concerns Investigation into the role of the artist in society.

Revolutionary Approach to Drama The Hero made ordinary Explores self-knowledge Explores restrictive nature of traditional morality Oblique dialogue (indirect, not straightforward, sometimes devious) Misdirection

Considered Scandalous “Ibsen was the best-hated artist of the nineteenth century.” Huneker, James. (1929) Essays, Scribner. New York,NY. Interpreted as promoting feminism, free love, while undermining religious and middle-class convention Ibsen denies advocating social/political movements “I prefer to ask; ‘tis not my task to answer.”