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Peer Gynt is a Norwegian peasant's son who lies, boasts and dreams his way through life. He runs off with a bride on her wedding day, nearly marries the…
Peer Gynt is a Norwegian peasant's son who lies, boasts and dreams his way through life. He runs off with a bride on her wedding day, nearly marries the daughter of the Troll King, abandons the faithful Solveig, makes a fortune in slaving and trade, passes himself off as a prophet among the Bedouins of the desert, and comes home as an old man to face the Button-Moulder, who wants to melt down his soul.
Context and significance
Written in 1867 as a verse drama, Peer Gynt is Ibsen's most fantastic work, a satire of self-deception in which Peer peels an onion looking for its core and finds only layers. Edvard Grieg's music for it, including 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' and 'Anitra's Dance', is famous around the world.
About the author
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was born in Skien in Norway; his family lost its money when he was a boy, and at fifteen he became a pharmacist's apprentice. He worked in theatres in Bergen and Christiania with little success, and then spent twenty-seven years in Italy and Germany, where he wrote his greatest works.
His verse dramas Brand and Peer Gynt were followed by realistic prose plays about modern life, A Doll's House, Ghosts and Hedda Gabler, which shocked audiences and changed theatre forever. He is often called the father of modern drama.