Henrik Ibsen

Many of Ibsen's earliest works were inspired by his education. Due to his fascination with reading, he wrote many historical plays on Scandinavia such as The Vikings at Helgeland. His study of Latin also influenced his poetic style of writing seen in Brand and Peer Gynt. [1]  Brand has stirred questions about Ibsen's writing who vehemently denies any religious philosophy; however, the play introduces many characters that are religious preachers. The play is still battled with hundreds of years later due to much of the plot reflecting the inner workings of Ibsen's mind as he contemplated the meaning and implications of being virtuous. [4] A few years later, Ibsen shifts his writing style entirely and develops what is now called Realism which is portrayed in A Doll's House and Ghosts. He rejects versed drama in favor of prose. This new style used techniques such as eliciting required information to understand a scene through questions and dialogue rather than announcing events. In addition, critiques of society and the home were the subject matter which caused so much controversy that led to Ghosts being forbidden in some countries. [1] Yet again, shortly after developing this style, Ibsen began writing in a symbolist fashion such as in Little Eyolf. These plays deal with psychological issues, namely self-deception, jealousy, and guilt. Psychology was very much a revolutionary aspect of his plays, but some were non-realistic such as The Wild Duck. Regardless of which pathway Ibsen chose to write in, he forged new mechanisms for creating drama. [1, 4]