Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) is one of the greatest names in world literature. He was central to the modern breakthrough in European intellectual life and is considered the father of modern drama.
His dramas have retained a strong topicality and are still staged in theaters in all corners of the world. It is said that Ibsen, second only to Shakespeare, is the world's most played playwright.
Ibsen as a playwright
By clicking on the links in the overview below, you can read all the works in full text or view them together with manuscript versions, facsimiles and comments.
You will also find background information on the creation of the respective works, editions and theatrical productions, and you can proceed to reviews, translations and images from Ibsen performances worldwide. This content is in Norwegian.
- Brand (1866)
- The Master Builder (1892)
- Catiline (1850)
- A Doll's House (1879)
- An Enemy of the People (1882)
- The Mountain Bird (1859)
- The Lady from the Sea (1888)
- Lady Inger (1857)
- Ghosts (1881)
- The Feast at Solhaug (1856)
- Hedda Gabler (1890)
- White Horses (1886)
- The Vikings at Helgeland (1858)
- John Gabriel Borkman (1896)
- Emperor and Galilean (1873)
- The Burial Mound (1850)
- Love's Comedy (1862)
- The Pretenders (1864)
- Little Eyolf (1894)
- Norma (1851)
- When We Dead Awaken (1899)
- Olaf Liljekrans (1857)
- Peer Gynt (1867)
- Rosmersholm (1886)
- The Grouse in Justedal (1850)
- Pillars of Society (1877)
- St. John's Eve (1853)
- Svanhild (1860)
- The League of Youth (1869)
- The Wild Duck (1884)
Ibsen as a poet
- Ibsen's poems in full text and more information about the poems (Norwegian)
- Facsimiles of Ibsen's manuscripts of poems (DokPro, Norwegian)
Ibsen as a prosaist
Speeches
Ibsen gave speeches on various occasions. They are handed down in the form of manuscripts or minutes in newspapers. Only newspaper reports containing direct quotations from the speeches are included.
Articles
Newspapers and periodicals were an important publication channel for Ibsen. Here he published not only articles, but also poems and plays. In 1851 Ibsen was editor of "Samfundsbladet" and of "Manden"/"Andhrimner".
Varia
Within the category varia you will find everything that is not plays, poems, letters or non-fiction. The material includes theatre material from Ibsen's time at Det norske Theater in Bergen, dedications, photographs, greetings, contracts, envelopes, art, receipts, accounts, signatures and miscellaneous.
Manuscripts
The facsimiles of Ibsen's prose manuscripts are not included in HISe, but are available in the DokPro database.
Ibsen as a visual artist
Compilations
In the pages about the online available editions of Ibsen, you can also find information about all the compilations of his works.
World premieres and first entries
An overview of world premieres and national first performances can be found in the theatre productions pages.