Form And Structure Of A Dolls House By Ibsen

A Dolls House has two strands to the main plot; one being Nora and Torvalds relationship (linking Krogstad) and the other, an underlining sub-plot involving Christine and Krogstad.

With in the structure of the play Ibsen uses this parallel situation to highlight certain aspects of each character, for example the sobriety of Christine to the careless child like manner of Nora.

Ibsen uses many different styles of from and structure to make sure the audience is grasped by his play. He himself is a naturalistic writer which is witnessed in the composition .

He calls his play ：a tragedy of the contemporary age； as he was one of the first to write about the lives of modern ordinary people in prose, though in fact there are many aspects to the play that contain other theatrical devices.

TRADITIONAL TRAGEDY In classical tragedy the protagonist has a intrinsically tragic flaw that will inevitably lead to his/her death (this could be the death of the old Nora, but generally in modern tragedy the flaw does not always lead to death and the hero is usually the victim of corruptions and restrictions in his/her society) On stage during the period which makes change, the character displays a side of the personality that the audience has never seen, such as Nora becoming mature and sensible.

THE WELL MADE PLAY Exposition – coincidence – revelation – resolution.

One of Ibsens most shocking strategy in the text is his apparent indifference to the use of the widely accepted ．well made play, though in fact the first and third orders of the WMP can not be ignored (unless the audience stay uninformed and ignorant though out the first and seconded act) and are utilized by Ibsen in a way any other play write of the day might. The second is used for massive effect to the plot for example it is a great coincidence that Krogstad is a long lost love of Christine and has committed a crime not dissimilar to the one we are condemning her for heightening dramatic irony. The fourth (shown above) is overtly bypassed and instead of denouement and reconciliation there is a confrontation and expectation.

Ibsen demands both an emotional and intellectual response form the audience he is asking them what there conclusions are and provoking thought and response.

Many in his time would feel an outrage at the play ending as this and an instant dislike of Nora but those were the people Ibsen were writing it for as those people were the people who had shaped the society Nora had had to break free from.

You go to the theatre for relaxation and amusement not for instruction or correction written by one of Ibsens contemporaries and a man of the latter, and in direct contrast with Ibsens open involvement in drama prompting change, using theatre as a channel of questions for social reform and expectation.

MELODRAMA This was a typical practically used form of drama in the 19th century.

It was embellished and exaggerated , it used expressive and emotional gesturing with 2d characterisation i.e.. good or bad.

the actors would speak in cliche to convey emotions to the audience (as Torvald speaks to Nora) Noras frenzied dancing of the tarantella is melodramatic although Ibsen was a favoured critic of this method of theatre.

Another instance of Ibsen using melodramatic devices is mirrored in the whole speech of Krogstad in act one and two and (depending on delivery) could be depicted as a melodramatic ．baddy. I do not think Ibsen intended Krogstad to be like this but we must take into account that depiction of the ．evil falls into the realms of melodrama because of our traditional and cultural ties.

REALISTIC PROBLEM DRAMA Ibsens central point was objective reality he wants to present reality truthfully on stage.

his realism often addressed on stage problems in society including marriage, religion, sexual diseases ect.

Realistic drama shows not only the characters actions but also the motives behind them, these being mainly from the societies faults.

I feel A Dolls House fits in best to this form of drama Nora is clearly at odds with society the society that she has to break free of ,at the cost of ruin.

Ibsens tactic in language is naturalistic as he gives no character monologs or rolling soliloquies. The characters may speak to themselves but never openly to the fourth wall.

Of course not all of Ibsens play is realistic, it can not be for the coincidences which occur are out of the ordinary and we have to remember that although it is as near to realism as Ibsen can make out it is not real as it is performed by actors on a stage.

STRUCTURAL POINTS an awareness of Aristotelian Unities is needed in dealing with Ibsens form and structure. He uses the same setting for 7o hours with a main and minor plot.

Tension creation is taken from the well made play, such as the focal letter box and Noras delayed departure.

Ibsen uses retrospective techniques to reveal characters situation, dialogue tells us of previous events and past actions.

Ibsens use of dramatic irony should be noted Torvald talks of the liar poisoning a household and how he despises the people that fraud and cover it all the while Nora has a secret of he own and he is pushing his wife down the road we know she is going without even realising it.

In conclusion we can see that Ibsen used elements already titled and also began to explore other areas of enlightenment in theatre, key points in the play are emphasised by this mix, which aids the audiences engagement of ideas in conjunction with the plot