Ibsen context Flashcards
Who is considered to be the most widely performed playwright after Shakespeare?
Henrik Johan Ibsen
Ibsen is widely recognized for his influence on modernism in European theatre.
In what year was Henrik Ibsen born?
1828
What was the occupation of Ibsen’s father, Knud Ibsen?
Merchant
What significant event happened to Ibsen’s family when he was seven years old?
They went bankrupt
At what age did Ibsen create a puppet theatre?
12
What was Ibsen’s relationship with his mother like?
Close and strong
What career did Ibsen pursue after leaving school at age 15?
Pharmaceutical apprenticeship
What language did Ibsen write all his plays in?
Riksmal
What was the controversial play that Ibsen wrote in 1862?
Love’s Comedy
What major themes did Ibsen often satirize in his works?
Social customs and values
What was Ibsen’s first true success in the contemporary style?
A Doll’s House
Who was the inspiration for Nora in A Doll’s House?
Laura Kieler
What significant themes does The Master Builder explore?
- Man turning against God
- a dramatisation of inter-generational conflict
- an exploration of Nietzschean concepts of morality
- imagination and reality
In what year did Ibsen die?
1906
What was the title of Ibsen’s final work?
When We Dead Awaken
What major social issues did Ibsen address in his later works?
Death, gender, murder, and suicide
Fill in the blank: Ibsen’s plays are known for their _______ realism.
unapologetic
Ibsen’s style was characterized by a … approach.
quick-witted, satirical
What was the impact of Ibsen’s works on modern theatre?
They significantly shaped the theatre culture of Europe and the West.
Politics and the English language: written by Orwell where he explained how parties use language for control and political wrongdoing and described the English language as ‘Ugly’
Orwell was in the Indian Imperial police (colonial police officer) in Burma and in his book ‘Burmese days’ in the early 30s and said that those who ‘control the present control the past’.
