The Ghost Sonata | Essays and Criticism

  • Influences of Emanuel Swedenborg

    Lane A. Glenn is a Ph.D. specializing in theatre history and literature. In this essay he discusses the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg on August Strindberg’s life and work, and analyzes The Ghost Sonata in light of Swedenborg’s notions of life, death and the afterlife.

  • Discourse and Scenography in The Ghost Sonata

    In the following essay, Berry presents how Strindberg uses the dialogue and staging of The Ghost Sonata to develop his concept of reality as a ‘‘single and unified fabric consisting of a homogeneous blend of matter and mind."

  • The Spectator Seized By the Theatre: Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata

    In the following essay, Parker discusses Strindberg's use of the play's visual components in a way comparable to his polyphonic or symphonic arrangement of the oral components.

  • Strindberg's Biblical Sources for The Ghost Sonata

    In the following essay, Bandy argues that ‘‘the play is anchored to a strong underlying structure,'' which ''consists of a series of tightly interlocking allusions to incidents recorded in the Bible.''

  • Strindberg's Ghost Sonata: Parodied Fairy Tale on Original Sin

    In the following essay, Mays contends ''that The Ghost Sonata takes as its main structural mode the fairy tale, and that this form is the means of saying something about Original Sin.''