ABSTRACT
Henrik Ibsen’s views of humanity, society, and his mother country were far more negative than those of Bjornson. While Bjornson was critical, his didacticism was gentler and more optimistic about the ability of humans to learn and change. Ibsen’s personality was vastly different from Bjornson’s; while the latter was gregarious, outgoing, larger than life, Ibsen was reserved, a man of few words. Ibsen was in Italy when he wrote the dramatic poem Peer Gynt, which he based on a Norwegian folk-tale. It chronicles the adventures in Norway and in far-away exotic lands of a man whose goal in life is to gratify his own desires, often at the expense of others, and to escape reality and responsibility through fanciful exploits. In 1874 Ibsen decided to adapt the poem for the stage. His plans included having a good deal of music composed, as songs, as dances, and as accompaniment to dramatic events.
