Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen was born in

1828 in Skien, Norway.

Ibsen died in

1906 in Oslo, Norway.

Ibsen lived in Italy from

1864 to 1868, where he wrote Brand (1865)and Peer Gynt (1867).

Ibsen lived in Dresden and Munich (and Italy off and on) from

1868 through 1891, going to Norway twice for short periods

Ibsen’s first play was

Catiline, written in 1850.

Ibsen’s first breakout play was

Brand (1866)

Ibsen wrote mostly verse plays from

1850 - 1867, finishing with Peer Gynt before transitioning to prose.

Ibsen’s first colloquial prose play was

The League of Youth (1869)

Ibsen’s major prose plays are

A Doll's House (1879), Ghosts (1881), The Wild Duck (1882), An Enemy of the People (1882), Hedda Gabler (1890), and The Master Builder (1892)

Ibsen’s major verse plays are

Brand (1866), Peer Gynt (1867)

Catiline written in

1850

Brand written in

1866

Peer Gynt written in

1867

The League of Youth written in

1869

Emperor and Galilean written in

1873

A Doll’s House written in

1879

Ghosts written in

1881

Enemy of the People written in

1882

The Wild Duck written in

1884

Hedda Gabler written in

1890

The Master Builder written in

1892

Ibsen switched from verse to prose because…

he sought stronger realism in his plays, wanting characters to speak everyday language. He wanted to use a medium that allowed him to explore ordinary people’s lives , eliminating artificiality.

the Master Builder plot summary is

Harlvard Solness is a builder in a Norwegian town who, following a fire in his first home with his wife Mrs. Solness, lost his two twin boys due to Mrs. Solness’s poor condition and lack of healthy breast milk. His fears are of Youth, of being surpassed by the younger builders who are his apprentices, so he does not help them succeed. Two young men, Kaia Fosli his book-keeper and Hilda Wangel (from The Lady from the Sea) are illicit love interests of Solness, but while Kaia is completely in his control, Solness is in Hilda’s control. The forces taht are at play are Youth and a Troll, the name for the powerful chaoticforce that animates Hilda nad Solness. Play ends with Solness going to put the wreath on his new, tall tower for his home, but he falls off, partially due to his fear of heights.

What does the Master Builder signify in Ibsen’s ouvre

Another turn from pure realism (A Doll’s House) to more symbolic features (the troll, the dreams).

Master Builder was written while Ibsen was in…

It was his first work upon returning to Norway in 1891.