Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen, Henrik (1828–1906), Norwegian playwright and poet. The pioneer of modern drama, his work developed from national Romanticism (The Vikings at Helgoland, 1858) to the realistic and effective presentation of contemporary social problems and moral dilemmas in such plays as A Doll's House (1879), Ghosts (1881), The Wild Duck (1884), and Hedda Gabler (1890). Very different, but as important to his philosophy, are his verse-dramas Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867).