Throughout a career that spanned four decades, August Strindberg authored 60 plays. While many of these works never gained much popularity and are seldom performed today, even in Sweden, some have become cornerstones of modern dramatic literature. You might explore The Father (1887), Miss Julie (1889), the short one-act play The Stronger (1889), or his “dramatic lyrical-fantasy in fourteen scenes,” A Dream Play (1901), which is written in both prose and verse.

The Ghost Sonata is frequently regarded as a precursor to twentieth-century experimental drama, such as Expressionism or Absurdism. For comparison, consider reading Eugene O'Neill's expressionistic drama The Emperor Jones (1920) or Samuel Beckett's absurdist play Waiting for Godot (1952).

Strindberg, like several other eminent European writers of the late nineteenth century, was significantly influenced by the Realism movement in drama. His play Miss Julie (1889), for instance, is a realistic drama enriched with symbolic imagery. Other examples of European Realism from that era include Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House (1880) and Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters (1901).

A central theme in The Ghost Sonata is the disappointment and suffering caused by the world, coupled with a quest for solace in the afterlife—an idea familiar to Existentialist thinkers and writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. To delve deeper into Existentialism and its influence on literature, you might read Walter Kaufmann's Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (1988) or go straight to the source with Soren Kierkegaard's The Concept of Dread (1844) and Fear and Trembling (1846).

The Ghost Sonata also exhibits a Gothic horror aspect in its characters and storyline, reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's work. Consider exploring Poe's “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) and “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846), both of which feature eerie characters and unsettling narratives.

As with many prolific and successful playwrights, Strindberg occasionally shared his thoughts on his craft through essays about theatre and playwriting. One such essay, “On Modern Drama and Modern Theatre” (1889), is included in Playwrights on Playwriting (1960), a collection of essays by notable dramatists such as Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, Eugene O'Neill, Bertolt Brecht, and Arthur Miller.