Henrik Ibsen’s Biography

Presentation on theme: "Henrik Ibsen’s Biography"— Presentation transcript:

1 Henrik Ibsen’s Biography
Emma Alcantar Kameron Casey Laura Covey Morgan Guilbeau Alec Heikkala Michael Seo

2 Activity: 2 Truths & A Lie
Two Truths and a Lie Activity: 2 Truths & A Lie

3 Which one is the lie? Ibsen had two other brothers, Joseph and George.
Ibsen’s father was a well-off merchant and his mother was the daughter of the richest merchant in Skien. At the age of 8, Ibsen’s father went bankrupt and became an alcoholic.

4 Which one is the lie? At the age of 15, Ibsen left school and became the apprentice of a Pharmacist. In 1850, at the age of 22, Ibsen entered the University of Christiania. In 1851, Ibsen got a job at the National Theater of Bergen.

5 Which one is the lie? Ibsen is referred to as the father of modern Theatre. Ibsen is referred to as the second Shakespeare of the 18th century. Ibsen is referred to as the father of realism.

6 Which one is the lie? One of Ibsen’s greatest influences was Shakespeare. Several of Ibsen’s plays involve influences from his childhood. Ibsen collaborated with Shakespeare in the course of writing some of his plays.

7 Which one is the lie? Ibsen married Suzannah Thorese in 1858 in Christiania. Ibsen only had one son, Sigurd, who would become an author and successful politician. Throughout his life, Ibsen never had any financial hardships due to his successful plays.

8 Which one is the lie? In 1865, Ibsen wrote the play, Brand, which caused an uprising in Scandinavia. The first play Ibsen wrote was Catilina. Ibsen was offered a job in the early 1950’s to be writer and manager for the Norwegian Theater in Bergen.

9 Which one is the lie? Ibsen wrote his first major playwright Peer Gynt while living in Italy. Ibsen wrote both Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House, consecutively, while living in Germany. Henrik wrote another major playwright, Ghosts, which stirred up controversy.

10 Which one is the lie? Ibsen was self-exiled from his home country, Norway, but returned in 1891 as a literary hero. Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House feature some of theater’s most notorious characters. Ibsen’s Nora in A Doll’s House is called the female Hamlet, Shakespeare's famous tragic figure.

11 Which one is the lie? Ibsen’s first playwright, Catilina, was a tragedy. Ibsen’s playwright, Ghosts, includes the controversial topics of venereal disease and incest. The Master Builder was the last play Ibsen wrote before he died.

12 Which one is the lie? Henirk Ibsen died in Christiania, Norway in Ibsen wrote his last play, When We Dead Awaken, in 1899. Ibsen died from a series of strokes.

13 Video

14 Overview Born in Skien, Norway on March 20, 1828.
Exiled to Italy where he wrote Brand (tragedy) Moved to Germany in 1868 where he wrote A Doll’s House in 1879. Returned to Norway a literary hero in 1891. Died in Oslo, Norway on May 23, 1906

15 Early Life As a child he showed very little sign of the theatrical genius he would become. Parents were Knud and Marichen Ibsen. Father was a successful merchant and mother was a painter and played the piano. He was the oldest of 5 children. Expressed interest in becoming an artist.

16 The Danish poet Oehlenschlager
Influential People The Danish poet Oehlenschlager following his apothecary apprenticeship, Ibsen published his first drama, then produced a second, both while highly influenced by this man inspired Ibsen to get involved in the literary arts, which was his true passion

17 Influential People His father, Knud Ibsen
In 1836 Knud Ibsen became insolvent, and his family moved to a small cottage on the outskirts of town Due to his father’s actions, the family withdrew to great poverty Decided to pursue his passions in order to escape the dreariness of his father’s actions

18 Influential Events In 1843 he was forced to leave school.
In 1850 he moved to Christiania (modern day Oslo) intending to enroll in college, and published his first drama, a tragedy entitled Catiline. In 1858 he became the creative director of the Christiania theater. In 1865 his first commercially successful play Brand was published. In 1879 A Doll’s House is published.

19 Education From an early age, Henrik shared an interest in being an artist like his mother After financial difficulties, Henrik spent most of his young life reading, painting, and performing magic tricks By age 15, Henrik quit school in order to pursue work and an apprenticeship to follow his interests of art

20 Apprenticeship Served as an apprentice in an apothecary for six years after dropping out of school Wrote poetry and painted on free time Wrote his first play Catilina at the end of his apprenticeship modelled after the writings of one of his great influences, William Shakespeare

21 Cultural Events Ibsen did not agree with many social norms and the oppressive society that he lived in. Women had few rights and were mainly controlled by their husbands. People were expected to obey the norm and stay in line. Ibsen wanted to break away from that. He tried to uncover the negative sides of society and exploit it and he demanded truth and fairness.

22 Influence on Ibsen and writing
The characters in his works and the challenges they face reflect his views. Many times characters are caught in a moral struggle or a struggle against society. He depicts female characters as struggling to gain acceptance and a place in society. Many of his characters are searching to find “themselves” or to find freedom from some form of oppression.

23 Economic events The economy of Norway was stabilizing after the independence of the country in 1814 The young life of Henrik consisted of an economic boom to occur within Norway, where economic growth was seen for decades The end of Henrik’s life was plagued by economic stagnation due to the industrialization of Europe and Norway

24 Influence on Ibsen and writing
The stagnant economy caused by the independence of Norway was partially a cause to the poverty Henrik and his family faced at a young age Many of Henrik’s writing (such as in A Doll’s House) deals with poverty and struggle with money, the same struggle he had during his young life

25 Political Events Foundation for modern industry laid in 1840s.
Economic developments led to class conflict. February Revolution of 1848 called for democratic reform. The majority featured radicals and farmers, frustrated with the actions of the monarchy. Eventually, parliamentarianism was introduced.

26 Influence on Ibsen and his Writing
The conversation between Nora and Mrs. Linde describe some of the class conflict evident during this time. “How very kind of you, Nora to be so concerned over me - doubly kind, considering you really know so little of life’s burdens yourself” (2192). Nora has lived a comfortable life, while Mrs. Linde has fallen subject to many injustices that Nora will not be able to understand.

27 Career as a writer Held a mostly meager career as a writer.
Failed his matriculation exam, and still not qualified by the time he had served apprenticeship under Oehlenschlager. First few works (Catiline, The Warrior’s Barrow) received harsh criticism, but Brand (1865) is regarded as the beginning of his critical acclaim.

28 Career as a writer Most famous works…. Hedda Gabler (1891)
Ghosts (1881) An Enemy of the People (1882) The League of Youth (1869) The Wild Duck (1884) Peer Gynt (1876) Brand (1865)

29 Career as a writer Was one of the few original male feminists.
Has been called the “father of modern drama” Career falls into several distinct periods First two decades (from 1850) = verse drama = prose Post = realistic dramas (wrote 8)

30 Close Read Passage: Page Read it! Enjoy it! Actually do it!

31 Close Read Look out for: word meaning structure sound and rhythm
syntax textual context irony tone and narrative voice imagery rhetorical devices themes gender history

32 Close Read Now… Create a thesis!
(Tie all of the things we just talked about together.) Be prepared to share with the class.

33 Works Cited "A Short History Of Henrik Ibsen." YouTube. YouTube, 08 Apr Web. 19 Oct "Henrik Ibsen Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Oct Kim, Cindy. "A Doll's House- The Cultural Context." Prezi.com. N.p., 3 Nov Web. 19 Oct Hemmer, Bjorn, Prof. "The Dramatist: HENRIK IBSEN." Great Norwegians. Metropolitan News Company, n.d. Web. 21 Oct "Henrik Ibsen." NNDB: Tracking the entire world. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct "Henrik Ibsen Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline." Famous People - Famous People in History, Famous People List & Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct