_An Enemy
of the People_ is a straightforward, spirited melody; _The Wild Duck_
and _Rosmersholm_ are subtly and intricately harmonized.
Going a little more into detail, we find in Ibsen's work an
extraordinary progress in the art of so unfolding the drama of the past
as to make the gradual revelation no mere preface or prologue to the
drama of the present, but an integral part of its action. It is true
that in _The Vikings_ he already showed himself a master in this art.
The great revelation--the disclosure of the fact that Sigurd, not
Gunnar, did the deed of prowess which Hioerdis demanded of the man who
should be her mate--this crucial revelation is brought about in a scene
of the utmost dramatic intensity. The whole drama of the past,
indeed--both its facts and its emotions--may be said to be dragged to
light in the very stress and pressure of the drama of the present. Not a
single detail of it is narrated in cold blood, as, for example, Prospero
relates to Miranda the story of their marooning, or Horatio expounds the
Norwegian-Danish political situation.
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