Henrik Ibsen: His Two Aesthetics

Henrik Ibsen was born in March of 1828 in the town of Skien, Norway. Ibsen spent most of his young life in poverty. At 16 years old, he moved to the town of Grimstad to apprentice for a future in pharmacy. Although Ibsen did not succeed in pharmacy school, his time spent in Grimstad still had importance because it was here that Ibsen discovered his knack for poetry. After spending several years in Grimstad learning and reading, Ibsen thought it time to head to Christiania. His intensions were to take entrance examinations for University in hopes to start his journey in career in literature.

Ibsen’s first attempt at writing plays was in the vein of Neoclassicism, based on his experiences in Christiania. During that time, many of the universities still taught classes in Latin, so his earliest plays encompassed many aspects of Roman history.

His first published play, Caitilina, was in this style. Although it was not well received, his time in Christiania was not wasted. An unexpected encounter with an internationally known cellist, Ole Bull, officially defined his new life in the theatre. Bull was impressed with Ibsen, subsequently hiring him to manage and direct plays at his theatre in the town of Bergen. But, most importantly, he was also contracted to write one play a year. While in Bergen, “…145 plays in all were produced during Ibsen’s tenure of office. Of these more than half (75) were French, 21 being by Scribe himself, while at least half of the remainder were by adepts of his school…” (“Ibsen’s Apprenticeship” 76).

Though none of the plays he wrote during his stay at the Bergen Theatre were successful, his experience as director shaped him to become one of the greatest modern dramatists. The two key writing...

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