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Topics for Further Study
(Drama for Students)
Investigate the influence of Ibsen's drama on the women's rights and emancipation movements of his day.
Investigate "Ibsenism" in England in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, especially the dramatist's influence on Eleanor Marx (Karl Marx's youngest daughter), William Archer, and George Bernard Shaw.
Research realism and naturalism as literary movements of the late-nineteenth century, relating their tenets to Ibsen's dramatic technique and themes in Hedda Gabler. You may want to consider reading Emile Zola's celebrated essay ‘‘Naturalism in the Theatre’’ (1880) in your investigation.
Much modern drama reflects the strong influence of Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and August Strindberg. Investigate and compare their particular contributions to the development of twentieth-century theater.
Research the official morality of Ibsen's day that led to his notoriety and the condemnation and censorship of his plays, especially Ghosts and Hedda Gabler.