The Poet Sings of Nation-Building:Nationalist Trends in Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt

The Poet Sings of Nation-Building:Nationalist Trends in Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt

The present paper investigates the function of drama as a medium in the movement towards national/cultural identity. The study focuses on Ibsen (1828-1906), and studies his dramatic objectives in the context of the nineteenth century Norway where the young playwright began his artistic career in search of works which, he hoped, could enrich his country’s cultural identity. The article studiesPeer Gynt (1867) as a work which manifests Ibsen’s nationalism. We will also try to show how in this work Ibsen combines poetry and drama and through the poetic essence of folklore shows moderate and unbiased use of Norwegian national (folk) culture.