
author
1828–1906
One of the great dramatists of the 19th century, this Norwegian writer helped reshape theater with plays that brought ordinary lives, moral conflict, and social pressure to the center of the stage. His work still feels strikingly modern, especially in classics like A Doll’s House, Ghosts, and Hedda Gabler.

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen

by Henrik Ibsen
Born in Skien, Norway, in 1828, Henrik Ibsen became one of the most influential playwrights in world literature. Early in his career he worked in the theater in Bergen and Christiania, and over time he developed a new kind of drama that pushed past melodrama and spectacle toward sharper realism and psychological tension.
Ibsen spent many years living outside Norway, including long periods in Italy and Germany. During those years he wrote several of the plays that made his international reputation, including Brand, Peer Gynt, A Doll’s House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, and Hedda Gabler.
He died in Christiania (now Oslo) in 1906, but his influence has only grown. Often called a father of modern drama, he changed what audiences expected from theater, opening the door to plays that examine private choices, public values, and the hidden strains inside family life.