Modern dramatic elements in three plays by Henrik Ibsen
Abstract:
Ibsen’s works have left a significant trace marking an important period in the development of playwriting. He influenced many of his followers as writers and, finally, affected the lives of many individuals. Drama, one of the oldest and most stable genres in terms of its persistence throughout history, calls for a definition of Ibsen’s work within its own development, just as his work is unavoidable in literary debates because of its significance and influence on the literary works of modern writers and readers as individuals, not only in his own time but, maybe even more importantly, in our own time also.
From the earliest days of drama up to the present day, drama, just as literature itself, has changed its dress, as well as some of its essential elements. When I say this, I imply both the form and the content. If we follow the development of drama from the ancient times to the Renaissance and Baroque drama, to the contemporary anti-drama or drama of the absurd, the changes can be followed at several levels of literary structure. What is particularly interesting is that the line of development of Ibsen’s plays largely corresponds to the development of drama in general, which is something that I want to prove here:
- the unity of time, setting and plot get reduced and finally completely broken in the 20th Century drama. It is interesting to follow Ibsen’s works from this particular aspect, because in a certain way its line of development corresponds to that applying to 20th Century drama in general – from that of Catiline which very much resembles the ancient drama up to the last Ibsen’s play When We Dead Awaken where space and time have an entirely different function as compared to the classical drama;
- at the level of characters, we witness a change of types on the stage – gods, half-gods, and heroes are substituted by the awaken renaissance man tending to pleasures and material values who is, again, substituted by the man from the edges of the society, the ordinary man tortured by existential fears and questions concerning the meaning of his existence, who is finally substituted by the entire absence of drama characters in the sense of Eugene Ionesco’s plays where faces or even breath itself completely substitute characters. A similar phenomena is noticeable in Ibsen’s works: at first there are heroes, then national leaders, then people from lower social layers, and finally murderers and people who are lost, disorientated, suicidal or simply killers;
- the dramatic conflict as a basis and essence of each play is gradually shifted from external to internal, from physical and verbal to that taking place in man himself, the conflict of the ego and the alter-ego. Again, a parallel with Ibsen is possible, as in his later plays” the drama arises through a conflict of unsettled ideas rather than through vulgar attachments, rapacities, generosities, resentments...The conflict is not between clear right and wrong…” (Shaw). This point will be discussed later within a more concrete analysis of the literary elements of Ibsen’s works and principles of character building, as well as of their strivings to attain meaning.
There are many levels at which the development of the drama genre and its growing apart from the basic postulates of dramatic work can be followed. The dialogue, monologue, and language in general move from explicit to elliptical forms, from open and external to internal dialogue, which is a natural consequence of the shift towards the internal problems of a human being and that being’s alienation and ambivalence. The form follows the essence, so the modern man in modern plays expresses himself in a different way than the ancient hero; his language is full of symbols, hidden meanings, and the reader must read between the lines and must engage contemplatively, emotionally and intuitively.
From this point of view, the language of Ibsen’s plays is very interesting and requires special attention and analysis. We can observe that the scenic instructions in Ibsen’s later plays” are given more and more importance as the dialogue is reduced. The action and the dialogue of his earlier plays are replaced by the silent symbols in the latest plays”. And exactly these “silent symbols” and everything that had replaced the reduced plot are of high importance for this study.
The only novelty regarding writing on Ibsen could be said to be the way of observing his plays. Finding new aspects of observation of Ibsen’s literary creativity is the honor that the future students of his work should be entitled to. I believe that education, cultural background, the milieu where one is brought up are important factors influencing one's way of looking at the world and literature for that matter. It is a matter of course that a reader from the south of Europe will cite and interpret Ibsen differently from a reader from the north of the same continent, let alone from a reader from Asia. In a way, our differences become our advantages when it comes to giving a novel interpretation to a work of art of Ibsen's.
The methods I will use in my research would be the combination of the psychological, semiotic and in a way formalistic approach. Even though I consider formalism disadvantageous in a way, the form is inseparable from the context. The form of a literary work of art can be studied alone, but only when it is brought in connection with the content can the study be regarded as complete.
Prior to all issues, it is important to base a discussion upon good reference material. The outcome of a discussion and conclusions are a matter of personal attitude in regard to the discussion. In order for the exploration of characters to be objective, we should start from the elements which are in the drama itself. - analyze the conduct of characters, their lines, their movement on the scene, their manner of interaction with other characters. This does not mean the exclusion of the author. It is on the contrary, for all the elements are the product of his ideas.
What I have been meaning to say is that the author's intention (a very complicated issue indeed) should be sought in the text, not outside it, in his personal writings, or statements that he was giving on certain occasions. Once we have recognized the elements in the very drama, defined the problem, that is, formulated the questions pertaining to the characters, we proceed to quoting the critical literature and the students of Ibsen. Many of them have been dealing with Ibsen's modern dramas, especially lately, and found him to be one of the first modernists, perhaps even the founder of modern drama. The texts of those people who studied Ibsen's dramas offer many answers to different questions, or, at least, many trials to answer them. It is certain that many attitudes are controversial. This is, surely, true because we are not dealing here with a marginal poetic figure, but about with an exceptional poetic dignitary. I believe that each and everyone’s attitude contains a grain of truth. My attitude is my truth about Ibsen. I do think that observations and conclusions based on our critical thinking are of a greater significance then repeating someone else’s notions in other words. We need other claims only to support our ones or maybe to fight against them. The final word should be ours and that would be a great contribution to studies on Ibsen’s work.
We can deal with the modern dramatic techniques and universal motives present in Ibsen’s works by studying his entire dramatic opus because in each and every one of them one can surely find some proof of his modernity. Still, I will stay focused on three of them which I see as representative and resourceful in his sense:
- A Doll’s House;
- The Wild Duck;
- When We Dead Awaken.
One of the things common to the above mentioned dramas is a human attitude towards ideals, and a devotion to a single vital idea. What inspired me to think and write about these dramas are the essential questions which Ibsen raises in them. Each of these life stories is imbued with great truths about life and man. While I was reading the dramas, I was fascinated by the characters, their thoughts, words, deeds. I was impressed as well by the way in which Ibsen portrays women, their complex nature, needs and urges. Furthermore, my intention is to locate and define the principles of Ibsen's artistic creation pertaining to the dramatic characters. When I say principles of creation I mean the way in which the writer built dramatic conflicts and shaped the characters as carriers of meaning and essence of a literary work.
In other words, my intention is to explore the application of modern artistic treatments in Ibsen's works. These are: dreams, symbols, music, expressive lexicon, stage design. Stage design is especially interesting because it offers great amount of material for exploration. Objects used on the stage, space decoration, light, natural surroundings (when the action takes place outdoors), prevailing colors, all of them are the means that a playwright uses, the carriers of sense and significance. The choice of the means and the way in which they are used is what I consider interesting and worthy of study. All of these artistic means are in function of building characters, which in turn produce meaning. I will explain why I want this research focused on these four dramas. I chose them because I think that, being Ibsen's later, mellower accomplishments, they give the clearest picture about the author and the art.
They burst with symbols, hidden meanings, interesting questions, problematic attitudes, a spectrum of new techniques or, in other words, with so many elements that give rise to debates or call for deep consideration. With no intention to neglect any of the values of Ibsen’s plays, I will focus on the most significant ones and will deal with them in this study. In my opinion, the most significant issues are the ones that follow, each of them serving at the same time as a guideline in the analysis of each play:
(1)The Doll's House
-relationship between man and woman (issue of idealism)
-question of gender
-psychological elements in the play-Nora’s role
-aesthetic and psychological function of means of expression
(2)The Wild Duck
-everyday and idealism in the play
-symbolism in the play (the wild duck and the loft)
-subtext and methatext
(3)When We Dead Awaken -love as creative inspiration
-question of artistic creation
-motif of death
-the function of stage space
