Ibsen

             "Are you accusing the world or is the world accusing you? ".
             DOGEN.
             Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906) was a Norwegian writer whose work is .
             primarily dramatic. In the entire history of literature, there are very few who .
             have measured up to Ibsen's standard. Recognized as the father of modern .
             drama for his realistic portrayal of all types of psycho-sociological problems, .
             Ibsen was considered the Shakespeare of the modern era. His plays made the .
             everyday man confront himself and evaluate the society and himself with a .
             different perspective.
             Born on March 20th, 1828 in Skien, Norway, Henrik was the second of .
             the six children. "His early experiences with small-town life and genteel poverty .
             sensitized him to the problems that he subsequently dramatized in a number of .
             his plays." Poverty's interruption of Ibsen's education invoked in him a strong .
             distrust towards society and Ibsen became stubborn, rebellious and highly .
             unsociable.
             It was during the time young Ibsen "briefly assisted an apothecary and .
             began medical studies before beginning a lifetime association with the theatre" .
             that he began writing satire and elegant poems according to the style prevalent .
             during that period. Ibsen's miscellaneous writings soon led him to a position of .
             theatre poet and stage manager at the theatre in Bergen and then in Kristiania .
             (Oslo). His energy was now directed towards theatre and his plays soon changed .
             the history of the stage. Ibsen paid much attention to stagecraft because it was .
             part of the dramatic design, which was to drive home the message most .
             effectively. "Ibsen's most characteristic works, his social dramas, cannot be fully .
             explained without reference to his particular experience of the stage in his early .
             days." .
             Ibsen once remarked "with pleasure I will torpedo the ark." Unable to .
             find himself identifying with the style of the period, he set out to create his own .