Selected Plays, Volume II

2012
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Author:

August Strindberg
Introduction by Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams and Anna Westerståhl Stenport
Translated by Evert Sprinchorn

Six Strindberg plays—written after his “inferno” period in the later part of his life

This second volume of the great Swedish writer August Strindberg’s plays begins with the 1898 play To Damascus I, which mirrors his departure from the naturalism he explored in several earlier works as he set forth on a spiritual odyssey. Other plays included are Crimes and Crimes, Dance of Death I, A Dream Play, The Ghost Sonata, and The Pelican.

One of the most illuminating studies of Strindberg . . . No one has done more than Sprinchorn to correct the view that Strindberg was a mad genius who should not be taken too seriously, and that as a dramatist he is greatly inferior to Ibsen.

—

Swedish Book Review

This second volume of the great Swedish writer August Strindberg’s plays begins with To Damascus I (1898), the first of a trilogy. It mirrors his own departure from the naturalism he had explored in several of his earlier works, as he set forth on a spiritual odyssey. Crimes and Crimes (1899), from the beginning of his symbolist mode, is a lighter take on the themes in To Damascus I. The first of a two-part play, Dance of Death I (1900) depicts a dysfunctional marriage. A Dream Play (1901), one of Strindberg’s most influential works shows reality converted into a dream; many critics consider it his greatest play. In 1907, Strindberg founded the Intimate Theater in Stockholm; The Ghost Sonata (1907) and The Pelican (1907), which were written for its opening, are two examples of a chamber play, a genre that Strindberg helped to originate.

August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter. He wrote more than sixty plays.

Evert Sprinchorn is professor emeritus of drama at Vassar College.

Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams is professor of Scandinavian studies at the University of Washington.

Anna Westerståhl Stenport is associate professor of Scandinavian studies and theater at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

One of the most illuminating studies of Strindberg . . . No one has done more than Sprinchorn to correct the view that Strindberg was a mad genius who should not be taken too seriously, and that as a dramatist he is greatly inferior to Ibsen.

—

Swedish Book Review

Contents

Introduction: Strindberg and the Stage
Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams and Anna Westerståhl Stenport

Selected Plays: Volume II

To Damascus (I)
Crimes and Crimes
The Dance of Death (I)
A Dream Play
The Ghost Sonata
The Pelican

Strindberg’s Plays
Selected Readings