Why is A Dolls House is considered a landmark in the genre called realism?
Ibsen was one of a few pioneers of the new theatrical movement of realism, and accordingly he is often called the father of modern drama. We have become so used to seeing drama (whether on the stage or in film or television) founded on the principles of realism that it is easy to forget how revolutionary the concept was in Ibsen’s day. Before realistic plays such as A Doll’s House (first performed in 1879) burst upon the scene, most European theatre fell into one of two genres: romanticism, or the French ‘well-made play.’ Romanticism placed royal or noble characters in heroic tragedies written in formal rhymed verse. The acting style was declamatory and unrealistic. The ‘well-made play’ aimed for more everyday characters and subject matter, and used prose dialogue, but contained little psychological insight into the characters and depended on elaborate and scarcely credible plots. There was no serious purpose conveyed by such plays, which were meant to entertain. Realism gained ascenda
