All My Sons - Isben and Realism, Father of Modern Tragedy

The Norweigan playwright believed that theatre should evolve. The fact is that “The standing of the theater in the 1850s was at its lowest, in both Europe and the United States,” supplies Ibsen scholar Brian Johnston. No other period has been at once so rich in literature and so barren in drama. Denmark had ruled Norway for the previous 500 years, most theatre was performed in Danish, by Danish companies, so the country has no dramatic tradition of its own. The lack of drama during that time period and this obstacle of Norway having no dramatic tradition of its own meant it was difficult to get into theatre. 

Isben rose to prominence due to his refusal to conform to the laws of drama at the time. Isben's plays were called realists and new theatres formed in Berlin, Paris and London for…