Peer Gynt Analysis
Sharlyn Ramirez 4/10/11
EL-123-03 Play Analysis Paper
Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s Play
“Peer Gynt”
“Peer Gynt” (1867) was the first of Henrik Ibsen’s successful plays in the nineteenth – century. Most commonly known as the “father of modern theater”, Ibsen devoted his entire career to the reconstruction of theater from a large, exaggerated spectacle, to more psychological and condensed productions. He was able to accomplish this through the use of several literary techniques such as the centralization of theme, detailed imagery, and allusions to some of the works of a writer who greatly influenced his writing; P.C. Asbjӧrnsen (Archer). As a modern playwright, Ibsen helped to shape the new movement in theater towards the manipulation of the audience’s feelings and thoughts to maintain interest and investment in the characters rather than simply impressing the audience with expensive props, lavish backdrops and large-scale fight or chase scenes. Henrik Ibsen accomplished all of these changes in his first vastly recognized play “Peer Gynt”.
In his play “Peer Gynt”, Ibsen based his main character on a children’s folk story by P.C. Asbjӧrnsen in a collection of Norwegian fairytales. Ibsen initially intended for this work to be read as a poetic fantasy, not to be performed on stage, but he later adapted the work with stage directions and acts once he realized the success of this story as a theater performance (Peer). This is evident in the organization of the text into stanzas in the actual print. Though there is no more specific organization such as meter, there are a few patterns scattered throughout as well as a few rhymes, so this play is very obviously a poem, but a free form one at that. The emphasis lies in the poetic language used within the dialogue between characters. An example of such organization is THE THEIF The tongues of the lances all flickering and flashing – see, see! THE RECEIVER Already my head seems
EL-123-03 Play Analysis Paper
Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s Play
“Peer Gynt”
“Peer Gynt” (1867) was the first of Henrik Ibsen’s successful plays in the nineteenth – century. Most commonly known as the “father of modern theater”, Ibsen devoted his entire career to the reconstruction of theater from a large, exaggerated spectacle, to more psychological and condensed productions. He was able to accomplish this through the use of several literary techniques such as the centralization of theme, detailed imagery, and allusions to some of the works of a writer who greatly influenced his writing; P.C. Asbjӧrnsen (Archer). As a modern playwright, Ibsen helped to shape the new movement in theater towards the manipulation of the audience’s feelings and thoughts to maintain interest and investment in the characters rather than simply impressing the audience with expensive props, lavish backdrops and large-scale fight or chase scenes. Henrik Ibsen accomplished all of these changes in his first vastly recognized play “Peer Gynt”.
In his play “Peer Gynt”, Ibsen based his main character on a children’s folk story by P.C. Asbjӧrnsen in a collection of Norwegian fairytales. Ibsen initially intended for this work to be read as a poetic fantasy, not to be performed on stage, but he later adapted the work with stage directions and acts once he realized the success of this story as a theater performance (Peer). This is evident in the organization of the text into stanzas in the actual print. Though there is no more specific organization such as meter, there are a few patterns scattered throughout as well as a few rhymes, so this play is very obviously a poem, but a free form one at that. The emphasis lies in the poetic language used within the dialogue between characters. An example of such organization is THE THEIF The tongues of the lances all flickering and flashing – see, see! THE RECEIVER Already my head seems
Cited: Archer, William and Charles. “Introduction”. Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen. First Edition. New York: The Heritage Press, 1957 First Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice – Hall Inc., 1965. 63 - 79. Print. Ibsen, Henrik. “Peer Gynt”. New York: The Heritage Press, 1957. Print. McFarlane, James. The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994 Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 10 April 2011. Tennant, P.F.D. Ibsen’s Dramatic Technique. New York: Humanities Press, 1965. Print. Online Citation Guide