Four Major Plays: Volume 1

The translations, created through a fresh approach to the Norwegian original in tandem with a keen sense of Ibsen's theatricallity and playability, have all been tested and refined in productions at professional theaters. The translators have paid particular attention to three aspects of Ibsen's technique: his wit and humor, his "supertext" - the web of rich allusions and references that he weaves in and around his dialogue - and the bold theatricallity of the plays. The result is an Ibsen that sounds contemporary without being slangy or colloquial - an Ibsen of strong ideas but also living characters - and surprisingly different from the image of the cold, forbidding "scold of the North" that we often associate with this giant writer.