Brand

Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.4

Word count: 187K words
Chapters: 19

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Brand by Henrik Ibsen. Author: Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906. Language: Finnish. Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures. Release Date: Apr 26, 2014

Editor's review

Brand is a verse play by Henrik Ibsen; this edition is a Finnish translation in the public domain. The work centers on the protagonist Brand's insistence on his ideals and his refusal to compromise, exploring the conflict between individual conviction and worldly institutions; it is an important text for understanding the idealistic side of Ibsen's thought. The relationships among the characters and the development of the conflict carry a distinct symbolic quality, and the language is concise, so readers should pay attention to the tensions between the characters' choices and their lines. Because this is a Finnish edition, readers need the relevant language ability or should read it alongside another translation. The book is better suited to readers studying Ibsen's drama or Nordic literature, or discussing the themes of idealism and reality, and it is especially valuable for coursework, book-club discussions, and script analysis.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Teachers and researchers studying Ibsen's drama or Nordic literature
Readers of dramatic texts interested in the themes of idealism and worldly compromise
Readers with Finnish reading ability who want to encounter a translated edition of Ibsen's original

Not a good fit for

General readers without Finnish who have no plan to consult a parallel translation
Casual readers expecting light plotting and simple character relationships
Beginners new to drama who need extensive annotations for support

Reading tips

First learn about Ibsen's background and the features of verse drama, then enter the text
Mark Brand's key lines while reading and trace the shifts in his convictions
Read alongside translations in other languages to reduce the language barrier
After finishing, organize the points of conflict act by act to facilitate book-club discussion

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this edition in?

This is a Finnish translation, a public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg. Readers without Finnish reading ability need to use another language translation or read it comparatively; it cannot be used directly as a Chinese edition.

Can I read it without experience in reading drama?

You can try, but it is advisable to read a plot summary and an explanation of the character relationships first. Verse drama has dense dialogue and strong symbolism, and readers without experience in reading drama can easily lose the thread midway; a guide or discussion will make the reading smoother.

Is this book suitable for classroom discussion?

Yes. The work centers on the conflict between conviction and compromise, and its issues are focused, making it easy to organize classroom discussion or a book club around it. Teachers can provide the character relationships and key scenes in advance to help students enter the text.

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About the author

Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906 Author

Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was a Norwegian playwright best known for his problem plays on social issues. His works often center on marriage, family, gender roles, and individual freedom, exposing the contradictions beneath respectable surfaces through tight dialogue and steadily unfolding plots. The collection holds 51 of his works, including A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, and Rosmersholm, as well as dramatic collections and translations into Finnish and Esperanto. Written in a realistic style, these plays probe their characters' inner lives, with spare dialogue rich in subtext, and helped shape modern European drama; they are still staged worldwide. Because public information is limited, biographical details are omitted here.