The "Epilogue" In Ibsen’s Drama

When We Dead Awaken, as the "epilogue" of a series of dramas by Henrik Ibsen, probes deeply into human nature and souls, and is also a reflection of his thinking of arts and ego. It has such profound meanings that different interpretations of the drama have become available, and it sets an example for modern drama in terms of artistic thinking. Through close reading of When We Dead Awaken and some other dramas by Ibsen, the research in the thesis explores comprehensively Ibsen’s "epilogue" from the angle of symbolism, its artistic structure, and metadrama theory, aiming to reflect the change of Ibsen’s artistic thinking, give a new interpretation of the drama, and reveal the meaning of When We Dead Awaken to modern dramas.From the arrangement of the relations between people and geographic space, Chapter One analyzes the use of symbolism in the drama and the symbolic connotation hidden in people’s relations and geographic space, revealing that Ibsen’s dramas feature a combination of symbolism and realism, and that the use of symbolism also reflects Ibsen’s thinking of the meanings of life.Chapter Two has further analysis from the following aspect:the past, present, and future are also delicately incorporated in a limited space-time continuum; under the text are some multi codes open to different interpretations; the fate of characters changes with the development of the story and lead to a surprising unforeseen end. Ibsen seemed to have made contribution to modernism’ arising.From the angle of metadram theory, Ibsen’s way of creating dramas has been studied in Chapter Three. Through his dramas, Ibsen pondered over the meanings of life, examined arts and ego, reflected on the nature and mission of an artist, the relationship between artists’writings and the people, and others. The studies of Ibsen’s self awareness, consciousness of self examination, his identity as a poet, and his poetic disposition, further display the factors behind his creation of metadrama.The artistic innovation of Ibsen’s "epilogue" has great impact on the drama after him. It not only foresees the arising of modernism in literary criticism, also inspires many writers. Ibsen pondered over the meanings of life through his dramas and incorporated his thinking of life into the descriptions of the characters on stage. It is a powerful combination of content and form. Based on the analysis of his dramas, the questions long dwelling on the mind of Ibsen might be answered finally, and it is also what we can learn from this "epilogue of his drama"—his ideals and artistic pursuit.