The Popular Origins of Ibsen's Modern Drama

Long maligned as an unrelenting moralist, Ibsen is better understood as a writer who combined tragedy with comedy in unresolved tensions that revolutionized dramatic art. While most studies focus on the serious aspects of contemporary dramas like A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler, this book demonstrates how Ibsen integrated elements borrowed extensively from specific popular entertainments in these and other plays. Ellen Rees here offers the first ever empirical study of the repertoire Ibsen encountered while working as a theater practitioner between 1851 and 1864, upending most of what has been written about the theater culture he experienced. It critiques previous attempts to link Ibsen to the melodrama and the well-made play, arguing instead that Ibsen engaged parodically and intertextually with light musical comedy genres like the vaudeville, which directly influenced his rejection of idealism and embrace of realism. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.