Henrik Johan Ibsen has a prominent place in the genre of realism in theatre. He is called the father of realism and modern drama. He was born on March 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway to Knud Ibsen and Marichen Altenburg. His father was a general merchant. Henrik Ibsen’s childhood was full of poverty because of his father’s financial setbacks. At the age of 15, he stopped going to school and joined as an apprentice in an apothecary in Grimstad. The poverty had a strong influence on his plays. He had the theme of financial difficulty in most of his plays. In 1850, Ibsen came to Christiania (Oslo) with the idea of studying in the university. But he devoted himself to writing. He wrote 25 plays in his lifetime. His early plays were written in verse
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The play met with harsh criticism from conservatives throughout Europe. No one was ready to accept the decision of Nora at the end of the play. It created a great controversy and Ibsen was forced to write an alternate ending for German translation. Ibsen termed this as ‘a barbaric outrage’ and he demanded to use it only when it was necessary. When he published Ghosts in 1881, he received harsher criticism than A Doll’s House. The theatres across Europe refused to stage the play. The Norwegian Liberal Press, who defended Ibsen during the uproar of A Doll’s House, was also against him. Ibsen was angered by this betrayal and so he published An Enemy of the People (1882) as a reaction to critical response to Ghosts. Normally Ibsen published his plays with two years interval. But An Enemy of the People was published the very next year to Ghosts. Ibsen faced criticism for all his realistic plays initially. But later they were accepted which made Ibsen internationally recognized. A Doll’s House is considered as a landmark in the development of realism. It portrays life accurately. Ibsen employs the themes and structures of classical tragedy while writing in prose about common people. He established a new genre of modern drama. He placed themes and situations of contemporary life on stage. He began to gain international recognition and his works were produced across Europe. His works were translated into many different
The play met with harsh criticism from conservatives throughout Europe. No one was ready to accept the decision of Nora at the end of the play. It created a great controversy and Ibsen was forced to write an alternate ending for German translation. Ibsen termed this as ‘a barbaric outrage’ and he demanded to use it only when it was necessary. When he published Ghosts in 1881, he received harsher criticism than A Doll’s House. The theatres across Europe refused to stage the play. The Norwegian Liberal Press, who defended Ibsen during the uproar of A Doll’s House, was also against him. Ibsen was angered by this betrayal and so he published An Enemy of the People (1882) as a reaction to critical response to Ghosts. Normally Ibsen published his plays with two years interval. But An Enemy of the People was published the very next year to Ghosts. Ibsen faced criticism for all his realistic plays initially. But later they were accepted which made Ibsen internationally recognized. A Doll’s House is considered as a landmark in the development of realism. It portrays life accurately. Ibsen employs the themes and structures of classical tragedy while writing in prose about common people. He established a new genre of modern drama. He placed themes and situations of contemporary life on stage. He began to gain international recognition and his works were produced across Europe. His works were translated into many different