Ghosts and Other Plays [Paperback]

Henrik Ibsen (Author), John Knowles (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: June 30, 1964

The plays in this volume focus on the family and how it struggles to stay together by telling lies - and exposing them. In "Ghosts", Osvald Alving returns home only to discover the truth about the father he always looked up to, and learns the horrific effect his father's debauchery has had on him. It was Ibsen's most provocative drama, stripping away the surface of a middle-class family to expose layers of hypocrisy and immorality. "A Public Enemy" sets two brothers against each other when one wishes to make public the facts about the polluted water in the public baths of their home town. And "When We Dead Wake" tells of an artist meeting an old lover by chance and rejecting his wife, in a symbolic exploration of Ibsen's own literary life and the sacrifices he made in his work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henrik Ibsen was born Norway in 1828. One of the first writers to dramatise the individual's alienation from society. He is recognised as one of Europe's greatest dramatists and is called 'The Father of Modern Drama'. Peter Watts is a journalist and translator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (June 30, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140441352
• ISBN-13: 978-0140441352
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Norwegian
  • #53 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Scandinavian

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest European playwrights, July 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts and Other Plays (Paperback)

Ghosts and Other Plays is a seminal series of plays that combine humor with scathing social critique. Ibsen was not afraid to tackle weightier themes and taboos, in order to shock his audience out of their complacency. These plays demonstrate Ibsen's loathing of hyprocrisy, soulless institutions, the mandates of society which cause suffering (ie. Christianity). He has also been perceived as the figurehead for the emancipation of women from their traditional "place." That is not to say Ibsen is of dire seriousness or dry. His plays move quickly, the events in "Ghosts" for ex. occurring in less than a day. Ibsen is a great playwright whose works remain relevant and vital, in a consumerist society where people still remain afraid to defy cultural norms.