Four Major Plays: Doll's House; Ghosts; Hedda Gabler; and The Master Builder (Oxford World's Classics)

Some of his greatest works

After the forced closing of the London theaters by the Puritans in 1642, serious drama in Europe entered a long decline. Despite occasional bright spots--French Neoclassicism, the German Enlightenment--it wasn't until the Victorian Era that a new style of realistic drama emerged, ironically, in Scandinavia and Russia, far from the traditional centers of European high culture. Beginning in 1850 Henrik Ibsen wrote a series of iconoclastic plays that challenged society's taboos and exposed its hypocrisy, while creating larger-than-life characters faced with agonizing ethical dilemmas. Like Shakespeare, Ibsen perhaps is better appreciated on the page than on the stage. With Ibsen, subtext is everything. Taken at face value, his plots can seem absurdly melodramatic, his characters unconvincing, his dialogue trite. You have to learn to read between the lines. Actors often flounder amid Ibsen's characters' nuances, while directors are more interested in making a statement than interpreting the author faithfully. "Hedda Gabler," the longest and most complicated play in this edition, in particular requires repeated readings. Its truly frightful heroine is a latter-day Medea or Lady Macbeth, who resorts to suicide when her nefarious schemes come to naught. "A Doll's House" and "Ghosts" both expose family secrets and hidden passions, while "The Master Builder" is a semiautobiographical tale of an aging artist whose fear of being supplanted by the younger generation leads to a disastrous flirtation with a young admirer who resembles nothing so much as an older Pippi Longstocking. Ibsen's dialogue is akin to the sticomathia of Greek tragedy, bristling with truly Sophoclean irony. If his plots lack Shakespeare's blood and thunder, his characters' inner turmoil is just as real. Sometimes they make the right decision, more often the wrong one, but with Ibsen it all boils down to personal accountability and taking responsibility for ones actions--or inactions. He demands high standards from both his characters and audience. The Oxford Ibsen translation by James McFarlane and Jens Arup is clear and readable. In "Hedda Gabler" they change the obtuse husband's catchphrase, usually translated as "Fancy that!" to "Just think of it!" This edition makes Ibsen as powerful and immediate as he was to his contemporaries.

Arrived in good time for the academic year and exactly the version required. Easy ordering, faultless delivery 👌

Gave as gift.

I bought this to read the master builder. It's a great play, I highly recommend Ibsen. oxford world classics makes good quality books.

These plays, especially the Doll's House, are still relevant today. They are very interesting to read again and realize what a shock they were to Europe at that time in history.

I am very pleased with the purchase and the timely manner in which the book came. It arrived just in time for the beginning of the semester and was in great condition. Also, I appreciated the fact that the book was as described.

Dolls House is a reminder of Breaking Bad television series, except with switch on the protagonist. good for wanting to hear about the ignorant yet caring and oppressed wife.

Muy recomendable

Perfect for restoring midcentury modern (MCM) moulded fibreglass chairs. Covered all the scratches and gave it a nice sheen and a protective coating that should keep them in shape for another 50 years!

These four plays are masterpieces. Don’t waste your time thinking. Just buy it immediately.

If one wants to know how human lives move on through mundane dialogue, one must read Ibsen. Human solipsism is one of the many things he is able to depict.

I love Henrik Ibsen - my old time favourites are : Doll's House and Hedda Gabler. They are so timeless. Henrik Ibsen is one of those rare realist writers who crafted his playwrights carefully with sheer profound clarity and he was 100 years ahead of his time. He is provoking by addressing taboo issues such as psychopathy (Hedda Gabler - female aristoctratic psychopath who uses her superficial charm to advance herself to get anything she desires ) and 'feminist issues' in the Doll's House. He was accused of being 'feminist' - but of course it wasn't true - he was just a great observer of society at around the time when freudian theories were emerging. I was only 18 yrs old when I first read The Doll's House addressing feminist issues such as 'what is it like being trapped in a relationship'. (The Doll's House is a symbol of her entrapment.) So many people analyzed this masterpiece and I will not give away the story line and the plot just highlight a few iconic lines when at times WORDS do speak louder than actions: TORWALD: "You have ruined my happiness. You have ruined my future. Terrible. He can do whatever he wants me now..." NORA: "When I am DEAD - he won't be able to." TORWALD: " Oh, don't be so pathetic. You sound like your father. HOW WOULD IT HELP ME IF YOU WERE DEAD? WHAT DIFFERENCE WOULD THAT MAKE? NONE .." ... and NORA has her light-bulb moment when she comes to terms with her life she lived has been a lie and you hear those iconic words that you almost know by heart: NORA: " ... This wasn't really a house. It was a playroom. I have been your doll ..." ...and it doesn't matter at which European theatre they play this masterpiece -the audience goes quite whilst she delivers her longer monologue and you can feel that sense of tension in the air before she walks through that iconic door leaving her lawyer husband and three children behind. (You could also view the play at the Young Vic Theatre in South London.)