THE UNIVERSAL COMPENDIUM







The Plays of Henry Ibsen

Henrik Johan Ibsen (20 March 1828, Skien, Norway–23 May 1906, Kristiania [formerly Christiania; now Oslo]), known as the 'father of prose drama', is considered one of the world's greatest playwrights and one of the founders of modern drama. His dramatic output can be divided into three periods: Romantic (1850-73), Realistic (1877-90) and Symbolist (1892-99).

# English Title Original Title Created First
Published 		Type Premiere Date Premiere Place First Eng.
Transl.
1 Catiline Catilina 1849 1850, rev. vers. 1875 Blank verse historical drama in three acts 3 Dec. 1881 Nya Teatern, Stockholm 1878
2 The Grouse in Justedal[1] Justedalsrypa 1850   Work in four acts (almost one and a half complete only)      
3 Norma, or The Love of a Politician Norma, eller En Politikers Kjaerlighed 1851 1851 Musical tragedy in three acts 5 Nov. 1994 Studentersamfundets Interne Teater, Trondheim  
4 The Burial Mound/
The Warrior's Barrow
 Kjæmpehøien 1850 1909, rev. vers. 1854 Dramatic poem in one act 26 Sept. 1850; rev. vers. 2 Jan. 1854 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania; rev. vers. Bergen 1921 (both vers.)
5 St John's Night/
Midsummer Eve		 Sancthansnatten 1852 1909 Prose fairytale comedy in three acts, with verse prologue 2 Jan. 1853 Der norske Theatre, Bergen  
6 Lady Inger Of Østråt Fru Inger til Østerraad; rev. vers. Fru Inger til Østråt 1854 1857, rev. vers. 1874 Prose historical drama in five acts 2 Jan. 1855 Der norske Theatre, Bergen 1890
7 The Feast At Solhoug Gildet paa Solhoug; rev. vers. Gildet paa Solhaug 1855 1856, rev. vers. 1883 Ballad drama in three acts, with lyric prose dialogue and interspersed verse 2 Jan. 1856 Der norske Theatre, Bergen 1908
8 Olaf Liljekrans Olaf Liljekrans 1856 1902 Lyric play in
three acts, alternately verse and prose.		 2 Jan. 1857 Der norske Theatre, Bergen 1921
9 The Vikings at Helgeland/
The Warriors at Helgeland 		Hærmændene paa Helgeland 1857 1858 Four-act historical drama in saga-style prose 24 Nov. 1858 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania  
10 The Mountain Bird[1] Fjeldfuglen 1859 1859 Romantic opera in three acts 18 Apr. 2009 Grusomhetens Teater, Oslo  
11 Love's Comedy

Kjærlighedens Komedie 1862 1862 Three-act contemporary comedy in verse 24 Nov. 1873 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania 1900
12 The Pretenders Kongs-Emnerne 1863 1863, rev. vers. 1870 Five-act
historical drama in prose, with some verse		 17 Jan. 1864 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania 1890
13 Brand Brand 1865 1866 Five-act contemporary verse drama 24 Mar. 1885 Nya Teatern, Stockholm 1891
14 Peer Gynt Peer Gynt 1867 1867 Five-act folktale drama in verse 24 Feb. 1876 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania  
15 The League of Youth/
The Young Men's League 		De unges Forbund 1869-69 1869 Five-act political comedy in prose 18 Oct. 1869 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania 1890 (two versions)
16 Emperor and Galilean Kejser og Galilæer 1871-73 1873 Historical drama of two five-act plays in prose 27 Feb. 1896 Leipzig Stadttheater, Leipzig 1876, rev. 1890
17  Pillars of Society/
Pillars of the Community		 Samfundets Støtter 1875-77 1877 Contemporary play in four acts 14 Nov. 1877 or 18 Nov. 1877 Odense Teater, Odense or Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen 1878 (excerpts), 1888
18 A Doll's House/
A Doll House		 Et Dukkehjem 1879 1879 Domestic drama in three acts 21 Dec. 1879 Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen 1880 (as Nora)
19 Ghosts Gengangere 1881 1881 Domestic drama in three acts 20 May 1882 Aurora Turner Hall, Chicago 1885
20 An Enemy of the People/ An Enemy of Society/A Public Enemy En folkefiende 1882 1882 Contemporary play in five acts 13 Jan. 1883 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania  
21 The Wild Duck Vildanden 1884 1884 Drama in five acts 9 Jan. 1885 Den nationale Scene, Bergen 1890
22 Rosmersholm Rosmersholm 1886 1886 Drama in four acts 7 Jan. 1887 Den nationale Scene, Bergen 1889
23 The Lady From The Sea Fruen fra Havet 1888 1888 Play in five acts 12 Feb. 1889 Kristiania Teater, Kristiania and Hoftheater, Weimar 1890 (two versions)
24 Hedda Gabler Hedda Gabler 1890 1890 Drama in four acts 31 Jan. 1891 Residenz-Theater, Munich 1891 (two versions)
25 The Master Builder Bygmester Solness 1892 1892 Drama in three
acts		 19 Jan. 1893[2] Lessing Theater, Berlin and
Trondheim		  
26 Little Eyolf Lille Eyolf 1894 1894 Play in three acts 12 Jan. 1895[3] Deutsches Theater, Berlin 1895
27 John Gabriel Borkman John Gabriel Borkman 1896 1896 Drama in four acts 10 Jan. 1897[4] Suomalainen Teaatteri, Helsinki and Svenska Teatern, Helsinki 1897
28 When We Dead Awaken Når vi døde vågner 1899 1899 Drama in three acts 26 Jan. 1900[5] Hoftheater, Stuttgart  


Notes

1. Unfinished.
2. Matinee reading held at the Haymarket Theatre, London, on 7 Dec. 1892.
3. Public reading held at the Haymarket Theatre, London, on 3 Dec. 1894.
4. Public reading held at the Avenue Theatre, London, 14 Dec. 1896
5. Public readings in London (16 Dec. 1899), Kristiania (11 Jan. 1900) and Berlin (26 Jan. 1900).

Sources

Haugen, E. Ibsen's Drama: Author to Audience. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1979.

Heiller, O. Henrik Ibsen: Plays and Problems. Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1912.

McFarlane, J. The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen. Cambridge, etc.: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Stone, M. H. and C. A. Wagner. Henrik Ibsen Poet: Playwright and Psychologist. iUniverse Inc, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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